


Out of the Abyss

by that_lesbian_friend



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, And the Wynhaught is strong in this one too, Angst between Earp Sisters, Calamity Jane is a ship's cat and she is awesome, F/F, I promise Wayhaught, Purgatory is now a ship, They are kinda pirates, the smut is in chapter 15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:02:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 92,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27027775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_lesbian_friend/pseuds/that_lesbian_friend
Summary: Long after the world almost ended in the cataclysm of the Ice Caps melting, a new world has risen where only those who master the seas survive.Waverly grew up under the watchful eye of the Alliance while Wynonna ran off to join a pirate crew years ago.Waverly had sworn never to take a job on the Oceans that had taken so much from her, but necessity forced her to take a job on a Cruise Liner. A midnight abduction brings Waverly into a situation she never could imagine and reunites her with the ghosts of Pirate past.A dystopian AU set out on the open ocean that no one asked for, but my brain couldn't let go of.
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 100
Kudos: 236





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. Not entirely sure what I'm doing. Heavily inspired by Abyss that Surrounds Us and other such works. 
> 
> Feel free to leave reviews and tips on what could be better. This first chapter is mostly set up, but I hope you enjoy.
> 
> A bit of information before we begin, since I am not very good at working that into the story itself: The Alliance is a unions between the surviving states of USA, Canada, some European states and the Northern parts of Africa. They have managed to get control of the North Atlantic, but pirates are still running rampant outside the areas of their control. Or at least, so it would seem. 
> 
> Again, tell me if you want me to do more world building and I will do my best.

Waverly gazed over her shoulder to see if anyone else was around her on the lower starboard deck. Finding she was alone she quickly pulled on the hair tie and let her long hair fly free. It fluttered wildly in the wind.

She then fished her necklace out from underneath her uniform and clutched her free hand around it. It was a small gold plate on a thin steel chain.

It had been her mother’s. Waverly couldn’t remember much of Michelle, only that she smelled nice and gave the best hugs. Someone had given it to her after Michelle had left, she couldn’t remember who, but for as long as she could remember she hardly ever took it off.

Closing her eyes and inhaling the crisp ocean air, Waverly just enjoyed the moment. As much as she was ambivalent to the oceans in its entirety, she couldn’t help but love these small moments she stole for herself where she felt like she was soaring over the waves.

Waverly had snuck away from the bar aboard the Minerva, and though she was breaking uniform protocol by letting her hair down from the ponytail, she couldn’t resist the urge to do so.

Technically she was on her break and as such was at least temporarily off-duty, but she knew if the wrong crew member or the rich patrons aboard the cruise ship saw her and tattled on her, she would get quite the dressing down from her superior.  
  
Waverly stayed like that; one hand on the railing, the other around her necklace, her hair blowing in the wind for exactly a minute, she counted the seconds, before she quickly put her hair back up, tucked the necklace back inside her uniform and made her way back to the bar.

The waves were bigger than usual tonight, and the rolling of the ship as it hit one of them threw her slightly off balance, forcing Waverly to grab onto the railing lining the crew hall. Even though this was her second tour with the Minerva, she had still to properly get her sea-legs, often resulting in her stumbling around the ship.

In all honesty, Waverly had promised herself she would never take up a job on the ocean. It had taken too much from her. Dad, Willa and finally Wynonna had all been claimed by the sea. Dad had died because of a dispute with pirates, Willa had been kidnapped and killed by said pirates, and after various stints in prisons Wynonna too had abandoned Waverly for the waves.

Last Waverly had heard anything about Wynonna was when the Oceanic Deputies had come to the small apartment she shared with her aunt Gus and asked her questions about her older sister.

Apparently, Wynonna managed to get in as much trouble out at sea as she did on land, having turned to piracy.

So no, Waverly really didn’t want to go out to sea. But the dwindling landmasses from the ice melting and the lack of work on land had forced her hand.

It was amazing that anyone had been willing to even take on an Earp, considering everything, especially an ocean liner carrying the high and mighty across the waves, but Gus had put in a good word for her and Waverly had done her absolute best to prove her worth. So far so good, and her superiors were happy with her.

Waverly gave one of her brightest smile to some of the other crew as she passed them, some returned it, others kept their head down and hurried past her, walking fast to squeeze as much from their short brakes as they possibly could.

Waverly tried to make her way through the kitchen without being in the way of anyone, but another swell of the waves sent her sprawling against the counter, her hand coming dangerously close to the hot plates on the stove.

A cook gave her an annoyed huff and she flashed her most apologetic smile. The cook ignored her and went back to his work.

Waverly darted around him and ran her hand along the counter to avoid another such mishap should the ocean decide to swell again.  
  
She halted in front of the door that lead out to the bar and the restaurant to check that her hair was smooth and that there were no signs of her earlier infraction. Quickly she checked the outline of her reflection in the glass. Satisfied she pushed it open with her shoulder and returned to her place in the busy bar.

Night was setting in and all the rich passengers on the Minerva seemed to be gathered in one place; eating, drinking and talking merrily. Waverly, having grown up in the shadows of the water-walls in Philadelphia, always felt out of place with the rich and powerful.

They were clad in fabrics and jewellery Waverly could only dream of owning. And they were gluttons beyond belief. But they were also the ruling class, the people who had brought order back to a world that had been tearing itself apart at the seams. It was because of the ruling class and their generosity that at least the people within the Alliance were not starving and killing each other for scraps.

You were expected to work hard, but in this world where the heat was punishing and growing food was hard only those who worked their share had a place in society.  
The ruling class deserved to relax and take a load off every once in a while, didn’t they?

The hours passed rapidly as Waverly wiped down the bar, cleaned glasses and mixed drinks for the increasingly inebriated ruling class.

Most of the faces blended into each other, but there was this one man who had been sitting at the bar for hours, nursing the same glass of whisky she had poured him hours ago. Waverly couldn’t shake the feeling that he was watching her.

He was handsome enough, with a ridiculously big moustache, dark hair that had been swept back and keen eyes. Though he tried to hide it Waverly grew increasingly more aware of his eyes watching her.

Towards the end of her shift Waverly noticed his glass had finally been drained. Given that the other patrons in the bar and restaurant had grown too inebriated to constantly need serving, Waverly grabbed the whisky and made her way over to him. Though he gave her a bit of an off feeling, her own curiosity got the better of her.

«Refill, sir?» She asked, a polite smile on her face.

«Much obliged» He said with a small smile, lifting his hand towards his head as if to tip his hat, only to find nothing there.

As she poured the drink she could feel his gaze on her. She steeled herself and lifted her own gaze to look him over.

He was dressed nice enough; the black suit jacket was well-made but slightly worn around the edges and a bit too big, unlike the other passenger’s tailored and impeccable clothing.

At first glance he fit in amongst the crowd, but upon closer inspection, he felt oddly out of place. Everything about him was too rough; the lack of make-up, the ill-fitting clothing, the outdated styling of his facial hair, the callouses she could see on his hands.

He might be new money. They were extremely few and ages in-between, but she had heard stories of people from the dirty masses making their way up until they could rub shoulders with the rich and powerful.

«Anything else I can get for you, sir?» Waverly asked.

The man’s smile widened, and Waverly noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes. «If you would be so kind as to tell me your name?»

Waverly was taken aback by that. Rarely did any of the passengers care that they even existed. The crew was only there to serve them as they unwinded from ruling what remained of the world.

«Waverly» She blurted out before she realised she was doing it.

He chuckled quietly and nodded to himself.

«What about yours?» She asked, immediately regretting it. They were not supposed to talk anymore to the passengers than absolutely necessary. They were certainly not supposed to ask their names in such a rude manner.

But the man was not offended. Instead his smile widened even more. «Doc» He raised his hand again as if to tip his hat, grimacing as he found nothing there, electing to raise his glass at her instead. «Thank you for the drink, Waverly.»

Waverly couldn’t help but smile back. However off-putting she had found him earlier, she couldn’t help but get some kind of… brotherly vibe from him. She tipped the whisky bottle back at him.

He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak again, but just in that moment another passenger, a rotund man with a dyed beard, crashed into the bar motioning impatiently for Waverly to attend him. Doc rolled his eyes at the man, but the mischievous glint was still in his eyes.

«Sir» Waverly said with a slight bow of her head at him before she left him to his drink.

It was the middle of the night when Waverly was awoken by the intercom sparking to life.

«Attention all passengers and crew. We seem to have a slight issue with the electrical system. We are working to fix it as fast as possible. The emergency lights have been turned on. Please remain in your cabins until further notice.» The voice said.

Waverly opened her eyes only to stare into the pitch darkness that filled her cabin. The soft lights that were constantly on in the crew cabins were off. Waverly groaned and turned on her back.

She always had a bit of trouble falling asleep, and once she had been woken she knew that she would lose precious hours of sleep before her shift started again early in the morning to tossing and turning, waiting for sleep to take her again.

In addition, she realised she had to pee. She groaned again and stretched. Her feet landed on the cold steel floor and she fumbled a bit in the darkness to find her sweat pants, t-shirt and hoodie. She found her hoodie and t-shirt first, pulling them on before fumbling around some more for the pants. Finally she found them.

Another swell from the ocean hit she ship just as she was standing on one leg to pull up one of the legs, sending her sprawling, knocking her head hard into the steel nightstand. Waverly fell to her knees and groaned loudly, covering her head with her hands. She could already feel the warm blood running from the cut on her forehead. _Damn it._

A cut on the forehead was certainly not uniform-friendly. Waverly pressed the sleeve of her hoodie to the wound with one hand and used the other to pull the pants up before she sat down on the edge of the bed. She groaned for a third time, she was too tired and grumpy for this.

The next events happened fast, too fast for Waverly’s confused and wounded state. First she registered shuffling footsteps outside her door. Then rustling of the lock before her door flung open. Before she could scream a hand was already covering her mouth and strong arms pulled her to her feet.

A second set of hands wrangled her arms behind her back and tied them tight with rope. Then the rope was pulled down to her feet and tying them up too. Despite Waverly’s desperate struggling it was to no avail; the hands that were holding her were much stronger than she was.

As fast as they had tied her hands and feet up, a cloth was shoved into her mouth, the only thing she could do was let out a desperate squeak before the cloth muted her. The emergency lights from the hallway light up the room slightly and as she was turned around to face her ambushers she caught a glimpse of the man from the bar: Doc.

Behind him she saw a tall woman, with shoulder-length bright red hair. The woman had already turned and was scouting the hallway. She had a gun in her hands.

Doc picked Waverly up as if she weighed nothing and slung her over his shoulder. Waverly started panicking, desperately wriggling and kicking, but to no avail. Tears formed in her eyes, blurring her vision, before they fell down on the floor, leaving a nearly invisible trail behind.

She didn’t want to end up like dad or Willa. She had lived a good life. She had gone to the school that was available, she had worked hard. She didn't want to die. 

Her abductors started rapidly moving through the crowded hallways; Doc carrying Waverly, while the red-head went ahead, occasionally muttering «Clear» as they moved down the hallways, up a set of stairs and out on the aft deck. The lower aft decks contained one of the ship’s speeders; small, fast boats that were deployed in case of emergency or in case of having to fight off pirates.

The redhead made quick work of the locked door of the speeder, jumping in before holding out her hands. Doc unceremoniously lifted Waverly up to the redhead who pulled her into the wheelhouse, depositing her on the floor before she brought out a small electronic device, which she plugged into the ship.

It was quick work to hot wire the speeder, and it jumped to life. Waverly heard the distinct sounds of the clamps releasing and felt the speeder start sliding down the track.

In the corner of her eye she could see Doc jumping onto the speeder as it gained speed and shot out from the aft. The red-head did not waste any time putting down the throttle and Waverly thudded against the back wall of the wheelhouse. Waverly was shaking with fear as the speeder cut through the waves at breakneck speeds. She was being kidnapped by Pirates. Pirates like the ones who had killed Daddy and Willa. She didn’t want to die too.

Another wave sent the speeder into the air before violently crashing back into the water, and Waverly couldn’t help but groan in pain as she landed forcefully on her shoulder. The sound made both the redhead and Doc look back at her.

As they sped across the water Doc made his way to the back fo the wheelhouse, on steady feet. Waverly did her best to shuffle back into the corner, but having her hands tied behind her back and then the rope fastened to her tied up legs made it hard. She panted heavily, her heart racing as Doc grabbed her. For a split second he meet her desperate gaze; Waverly must have imagined it but he looked apologetic.

He turned her, and with practised hands released her hands. How the man could be this steady while the speeder flew from one wave to the next, Waverly would never understand. She had fully intended to fight back once her arms were free, but occasionally being airborne and Doc’s strong, practised hands made the whole thing futile.

Before Waverly had even conceived a plan as to how she was going to attack him, her hands were tied up again, this time in front of her, then the rope was secured to her feet. The rope between her hands and feet was shorter this time. Waverly was now forced to stay in an upright position, but at least her ass cushioned the fall the next time she was sent airborne.

They had been driving for what felt like hours. Waverly was sure her back and ass were already bruised from the impacts each time the speeder flew between waves. Tears were still stubbornly making their way down her face and her body was shaking from the cold, exhaustion and fear.

The speeder finally slowed down and she saw Doc fiddling with the controls of the radio. After a few moments of adjusting he seemed happy and brought the mic closer to his mouth.

«Come in, Purgatory. This is Doc. We are inbound from the West on a speeder from the Minerva, do you copy? Over»

There was a bit of a pause, then a slight scratching from the radio before a male voice sounded over the radio. «Password? Over»

Doc groaned. «Seriously, Jeremy?»

«Password?» Scratched the voice again.

The redhead looked at Doc and rolled her eyes before focusing back out on the dark night. Doc sighed heavily before he said, resignation clear in his voice: «Tacos are tasty» into the radio.

Waverly had to control herself not to snort. _What kind of pirates were these people?_

«You may dock, Doc.» The voice on the other end chuckled. «Dock, Doc. Uhm, welcome back.»

The speeder finally came to a halt in the ship’s docking bay. Waverly saw speeders and cruisers of all shapes and sizes; clearly stolen. The sleek, shiny design of the Minerva speeder looked very out of place in this patchwork fleet.

The massive port doors shut as Doc jumped down on the docking bay and fastened a rope. A massive claw was already moving to pick up the speeder and place it on one of the railings that would allow for rapid deployment.

«I’ll go tell the XO» Doc said before heading off. «Put her up in the Captain’s quarters for now.»

The redhead just nodded and turned towards Waverly. Waverly tried to push back, but in her restricted state, she couldn’t do much to resist as the redhead picked her up. She had expected the redhead to sling her over her shoulder, but surprisingly the woman picked her up and carried her in her arms bridal style.

Waverly couldn’t help but frown. Now that she was so close to the woman, she could see the distinct traces of burn scars that disappeared into her collar.

The redhead jumped down from the speeder, the impact of the additional weight she was carrying as her feet hit the dock only elicited a low grunt. The redhead moved with sure steps as she started making her way through the ship.

The adrenaline that had maintained Waverly thus far had started to ebb out. She was tired, in pain and very confused. She had heard many tales of pirates: Thieves and rapists of the sea. Dirty, hungry killers who took what they wanted and left only burned husks of ships left.

But despite the rough abduction, Doc had shown enough care to ensure the ride in the speeder had been as painless as possible, and now the redhead took great care in manoeuvring them through the narrow doors; making sure that Waverly didn’t bump into the frame. _What the hell kind of pirates were these people?_

Waverly ignored her confusion, forcing herself to stay on edge and tried to swivel her head as much as possible, taking in the crew. But the lights were low and whenever there was enough light to properly see, it was so bright and stark that Waverly had to squeeze her eyes shut to avoid the painful shock of the lights hitting her eyes.

They moved rapidly through the ship until the redhead stopped outside a door. She reached out and opened the door, using her foot to open it wide enough for her to manoeuvre the two of them in.

The cabin was rather big; there was a comfortable sitting room with a couch, a fake fire place, a big desk with a comfortable looking chair, a big dresser, large thick windows, a closed door that Waverly could only assume went into a bathroom, and a second room behind a curtain where Waverly could see a big bed.

The redhead put her gently down on the couch. There was a slight frown on her face as she looked at Waverly’s face.

«We should clean that before the XO arrives.» She said, motioning towards the wound on Waverly’s forehead. Her voice was surprisingly soft and light for the rather stern expression she too had on her face.

The light in here was soft, casting a pleasant light on the redhead’s face. Waverly couldn’t deny that she was beautiful; high cheekbones, arching eyebrows, a defined jawline, a narrow nose.

The redhead went into the bathroom and she could hear running water. She brought out a small bowl of water and put it down on the coffee table that had been bolted into the floor, she then walked over to the dresser, bringing out a fresh cloth, a glass flask and a bandage that looked big enough to cover the wound.

The redhead sat down on the edge of the coffee table, dipped the cloth into the warm water, and grabbed for Waverly’s jaw. Waverly jerked her head back and out of the woman’s grip. She just let out a small sigh and arched an eyebrow at Waverly.

Reaching forward again, the other woman pulled the cloth from Waverly’s mouth. Waverly hadn’t noticed just how uncomfortable it had been to have cloth shoved into her mouth until it was removed. She smacked her lips a few times, chewing on nothing to get the ache out of her jaw.

Waiting but a beat more, the redhead leaned forward again and grabbed Waverly’s jaw, lightly dabbing the cloth against the side of her face, cleaning up the blood that had run down and dried around her eye socket and chin. The redhead refolded the cloth and leaned in closer as she carefully cleaned the cut on Waverly’s forehead.

Waverly saw her chance and suddenly reared her head back and head-butted the redhead, her forehead hitting her square on the nose. The redhead rolled backwards across the table, landed on her feet and covered her nose, blood already gushing out of it:

«Goddamn it» she growled.

Just as this happened the door swung open and a woman leisurely stepped in.

«Ouch, she got you good there, Haught-stuff.» A familiar voice said.

Waverly gaped. «Wynonna?»

Her big sister, Wynonna Earp was standing in the doorway. She wore tight fitting leather pants, a crop top and a leather jacket as well as an over the top long barrelled revolver hanging from her hip. Her big sister who had abandoned her in favour of piracy and whose actions had on more than one occasion sent the Oceanic Deputies to her doorstep was giving her an awkward smile and a small wave.

«Hi, baby girl.»

Waverly didn’t know what to say and just stared dumbfounded at her long lost sister.

Wynonna looked her over. «You grew out your…» she made vague gestures over her own chest, then frowned before that awkward smile returned. «Hair»


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to publish the second and third chapter as well. Patience has never been my strong suit. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy and I always welcome feedback.

* * *

A quiet settled between the sisters, only broken by the redhead’s - Haught’s - groaning.She held the cloth that previously had been used to clean Waverly’s wound to her own nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

«Waves, did you break Haught’s nose? You really shouldn’t do that.» Wynonna wiggled her eyebrows at Waverly. «Her face is really the only thing she’s got going for her.»

Haught just glared at Wynonna in response. Waverly was still too dumbfounded to say anything.

«No, but seriously, did she break it?» Wynonna took a step closer to the redhead who held up her free hand to stop her from approaching any further.

«It’s not broken.» Haught said, her voice slightly pinched.

«Oh, good. Then you should just skedaddle, so me and lil’ sis here can have our long awaited reunion.» Wynonna walked over to the coffee table and took the spot that the redhead had occupied earlier. Waverly was still just staring at her sister.

«I’ll come back in a bit to make sure she hasn’t killed you» Haught said as she exited the room, holding her head high to try to stop the bleeding.

With a squeak from the hinges of the door it was shut behind her and the Earp sisters found themselves alone. Wynonna awkwardly leaned forward and untied Waverly’s hands and feet.

«Baby girl» Wynonna began.

The slap echoed through the room.

«I guess I deserved that.» Wynonna said, scrounging up her face, blinking fiercely.

«You abducted me.»

«Yeah, kinda»

«Kinda? You abducted me, Wynonna. First you abandoned me and then you _abducted me_!»

Wynonna rubbed her cheek where Waverly had hit her; the skin rapidly turning angry and red in the shape of a handprint. «It was the best thing I could do, it gave you a chance.»

Waverly scoffed. «Which part? Abandoning me or abducting me?»

«Both»

«What the hell, Wynonna?»

Wynonna sighed and got up. She walked over to a cabinet, opening the door and bringing out a bottle and two glasses. Her big sister poured both of them some whisky.

She held out the other glass to Waverly as she sat down on the table again. Waverly angrily shook her head. Wynonna just shrugged, and in rapid succession drank the contents of both glasses.

Turning her attention back to Waverly, Wynonna took a deep breath. «When I heard that you had taken a job out at sea, I had to go get you before Bobo did.»

«Who the hell is Bobo?» Waverly demanded, then at second thought added: «And what kind of name is Bobo?»

Wynonna chuckled. «Bobo is someone who does not like me at all, baby girl. And I will-»

«Stop calling me that.» Waverly could see that that cut deeply with Wynonna.

The shock of meeting her sister again had faded and been replaced by the rage and anger of being abandoned seven years ago. There was a small part of Waverly who wanted to immediately say sorry as soon as she saw the hurt in Wynonna’s eyes, instead she doubled down.

«You don’t get to call me that anymore.»

Wynonna looked away, letting out a shaky breath. «Fine.» She rubbed her hands against her thighs. «I want to tell you everything, Waverly, but I can’t not yet.»

Waverly scoffed. «Why not?»

Wynonna finally looked up at her, the look in her eyes somewhere between anger, hurt and guilty. «What do you think I am?»

Waverly frowned, shaking her head slightly. «What does that have to do with you telling me why you abducted me?»

The look in Wynonna’s eyes changed to resolute. «What do you think I am, Waverly?»

Feeling her own resolution kick in, Waverly raised her chin a bit in defiance. «A pirate»

Wynonna let out a wry laugh. «And there it is. _That_ is why I can’t tell you.»

«You can’t tell me because you are a pirate? Wynonna, you are not making any sense!»

«You don’t remember what it was like when we were younger. All you know is what the Alliance has spoon-fed you. You’re brainwashed, baby girl.»

Waverly stood up, her fists clenched angrily at her sides. «Don’t call me that. And I am not brainwashed!»

Wynonna leaned back, startled by her sudden outburst. There was a long moment of silence that clung to the tension in the air between the Earp sisters. Finally Wynonna pushed back and flung her feet over the table to stand up at the other side.

«Look, it’s been a long night. The captain has lent us the cabin for tonight. I’ll find some fresh clothes for you. You can use the shower if you want. You can sleep in there tonight.» Wynonna said, gesturing towards the bedroom.

«No, Wynonna! I’m not done.»

«Well I am» Wynonna sighed. «Listen, we can sit here and you can glare at me, or you can go and try to get some sleep in what is quite literally the best bunk on this bucket, and then perhaps tomorrow you won’t be» Wynonna gestured towards her. «All hell hath no fury.»

«Are you telling me to go sleep off an _abduction?_ » Waverly couldn’t believe her ears.

Wynonna had always been… _Wynonna_ but this was on a whole other lever.

«I don’t know okay. I just know that this» She motioned between them. «Is going nowhere when you’re this mad.»

Waverly felt the tears build up in her eyes. She was tired, hurt, angry and sad and she didn’t want to show Wynonna any of this. As much as she hated that she was about to do what Wynonna wanted her to, she stalked into the bedroom.

She really wished there was a door to slam, but in its absence she instead forcefully pulled on the curtain to separate herself from Wynonna. The curtain was not secured on the other side, and the force of the pull only resulted in the curtain in its entirety shifting from one side of the door frame to the other.

Wynonna’s light snicker did not escape Waverly. She silently cursed herself and used both hands spread the curtain in front of the frame to finally be out of sight.

Listening intently, she waited for Wynonna to say or do anything. A moment later Wynonna sighed tiredly, then she moved over to the cabinet where she had found the whiskey. Waverly could hear the sound of a bottle being uncorked, steps moving around the room and then the couch creaking as Wynonna threw herself onto it.

Since Waverly didn’t hear the sounds of a glass being filled, she could only assume that Wynonna was drinking straight from the bottle.

Waverly wrapped her arms around herself and turned to look around the room. It was impeccable. Everything was perfectly placed, every line straight, every surface clean. The bed was made to perfection. There was a distinct military feel to it, and it was the last thing Waverly had expected to find in the quarters of a Pirate Captain.

Waverly sat down on the bed, not caring that she was probably dirtying up the pristine sheets on the bed. Her head hurt, she was still cold from the journey in the poorly insulated Speeder and her body ached. She rubbed her wrists where the rope had been tied as she tried to make sense of everything that was going on.

Wynonna who had abandoned her seven years ago had her kidnapped and then refused to tell her why. Not only that, but she was a pirate. Wynonna had taken Waverly from the safety of the Minerva to embed her squarely in the heart of a pirate ship; a place that was as far from safe as could be. And she was doing it because of some other pirate named Bobo of all things.

Not only that, but by kidnapping her Wynonna had condemned her to spend the rest of her life outside the Alliance.

The Alliance did what they had to in order to protect their borders. If they started getting slack just because one woman claimed she was kidnapped it could threaten all of them. Pirates were the deadliest things out on the ocean. Worse than disease, worse than lack of food or water.

And even if Waverly somehow escaped the clutches of these pirates, the world outside the boundaries of the Alliance was a savage and dangerous place. People only cared for themselves and wars, famine and brutality was raging.

Images Waverly had seen on the news flashed before her eyes: bombs going off, pirates sinking fishing boats, emaciated children huddling together in ramshackle shelters, starvation.

Sure, life in the Alliance was hard. They had to work from dawn till dusk. But they were safe and warm and they had food. They had a purpose; they were building a better tomorrow, building a new world. And while society was rebuilding itself they were safe and warm. The Earth Deputies protected them on land and the Oceanic Deputies protected the seas. The Alliance was safe.

Waverly slumped down on the bed, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing the tears that threaten to fall back. She would not cry.

Her mind kept racing as the minutes ticked by. There were too many questions and not enough answers. And to top it all off she was still furious at Wynonna for leaving her all those years ago. They had lost their parents, a sister and still Wynonna had left her. And she had a right to be angry about that goddamn it.

Waverly curled into a ball, hoping to retain enough heat to stop shivering. The cold still clung to her, and it quickly became apparent that curling up into a ball wasn’t going to do it. Reluctantly she pulled the blankets up and wrapped herself in them.

Outside in the main room, she heard a faint knock and Wynonna’s disinterested «Huh?»

The door lever creaked as it was pushed open and Waverly heard someone stepping into the room. The hinges squeaked as the door was shut again.

«Glad to see you’re still in one piece.»

Waverly recognised the voice of Haught.

«Erh, she got me too, but nowhere near as good as she got you» Wynonna replied, a faint trace of teasing in her tone.

«Helping yourself to the Captain’s booze?»

«He can bill me.»

Haught made a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a chuckle. After a brief pause she added softly. «How did it go?»

«Shh» Wynonna said and Waverly could hear the couch creaking as she stood up.

Waverly realised that Wynonna was headed over to the curtain separating the bedroom from the main room. Waverly closed her eyes, tried her best to relax her face and control her breathing to make is look like she was sleeping. The curtain was gently pushed aside. The room was quiet, except for her own steady breathing.

Waverly forced herself to remain limp and hoped that she could get away with the deception. After what felt like forever, the curtain fell back into place. Waverly could hear Wynonna walking back over to the couch. She opened her eyes again and lifted her head slightly, focusing on trying to hear what was said in the other room.

«She’s fucking _angry._ Like, I am amazed there wasn’t any steam coming out of her ears.» Wynonna admitted. «And I hate this whole ‘take it slow’ schtick.»

«I get that, Earp. But you know it is necessary.» Haught’s voice was annoyingly soft. She was a pirate goddamn it, sound like it.

«Yeah, yeah, rude awakening and all that. Doesn’t stop it from being bullshit.» Wynonna complained.

«Give it time. We just need to introduce her to the ideas slowly. There’s a better chance that it will stick then.»

What the hell did the redhead mean ‘Introduce her to the ideas slowly’? Could all of this be a trick? Doc’s doing his best to make the ride comfortable, Haught’s soft way of carrying her through the ship and attempt to clean her wound? Were they trying to manipulate her?

Wynonna just grunted in agreement, the grunt echoing inside the glass bottle Waverly assumed she had lifted to her mouth to drink from.

«Try to have some patience, Wynonna.» Haught reassured her.

«Ugh» Wynonna groaned.

«Get some sleep.» Haught said.

«Hey, I’m the superior officer here. You don’t get to give me orders.» Wynonna protested.

«Yeah, yeah. Good night, Earp.» Haught said as the lever squeaked again and the door opened.

«Night» Wynonna said quietly as the door closed behind Haught.

Waverly listened as Wynonna moved around in the other room, lights being turned off, the creaking as Wynonna settled down on the couch, and the distinct sound of a glass bottle being put down on steel floors. It didn’t take long before Waverly could hear the faint snoring from the other room.

Waverly briefly considered sneaking out, but what good would that do? She was on a pirate ship in the outer edges of the northern Atlantic. Even if she did manage to sneak out, she had nowhere to go. She didn’t know how to hot wire a boat, much less how to pilot one.

Waverly buried her head in the pillows. She was so confused, and so damned tired. But she couldn’t sleep. Even if Wynonna was fast asleep in the other room, this place wasn’t safe. She couldn’t trust Wynonna to ensure her safety. She had to stay awake.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter up and running. This story really won't let me go and I am currently 7 chapters deep. Hopefully the writing-kick keeps up.
> 
> And yes, I know Waverly is a vegan in the show, but post-apocalyptic world you know. Sadly she did not have the opportunity to be vegan.

* * *

Waverly was torn from sleep by the intense need to pee. She had no idea how long it had been since she was kidnapped, but the sun was up outside. Waverly hardly had time to react to her first day in captivity as the intense pressure from her bladder screamed at her. She pressed her knees together and darted out of bed.

With everything that had happened last night, Waverly had completely forgotten about having to pee many hours ago on the Minerva. Now she was seriously worried that she didn’t have time to get to the bathroom. She pressed her knees together and moved as fast as her legs could carry her towards the bathroom. Once inside, Waverly dove for the toilet and finally relieved herself.

When she finished she flushed and washed her hands. As she turned off the faucet she cocked her head to listen. She didn’t hear Wynonna’s snoring anymore. Aside for the faint hum of the engines, she didn’t hear anything. Waverly made her way back to the main room, slowly taking a few steps into the room.

«Morning» Haught said, starling Waverly, making her jump back and crash into the wall behind her.

The redhead was sitting in the corner of the couch farthest away from the corner Waverly had just rounded. She was reading a book, holding it in one hand while the other was placing a cup of steaming coffee back on the table. She was wearing comfortable dark blue pants, a tight fitting jacket with a high collar, and a heavy belt around her waist. Waverly saw a knife and a small communicator hanging from it, but no gun.

Waverly took a few deep breaths to steady herself. «Where’s Wynonna?»

Haught put the cup down and turned a page in her book. «She’s the XO, she has more important stuff to do than babysit you.»

«And you don’t?» Waverly shot back, feeling rather proud of herself at the jab.

For the first time this morning, Haught looked up from her book, her warm brown eyes meeting Waverly’s own.

«Not at the moment» was the only response Waverly got, delivered in a calm and steady tone.

Now that Waverly finally got to look at her in daylight, she noticed that she had a small scar above her left eyebrow and two more on the side of her face. Again Waverly was hit with the realisation of just how beautiful Haught was. It was very hard to compare the stern, mission-oriented woman who had abducted her last night, with the woman sitting on the couch. Haught had drawn her left knee up to her chest, the book resting on it and the other leg was stretched out on the couch. She was just leisurely reading her book while drinking coffee, looking relaxed and pretty. 

The redhead looked nothing like the pirates Waverly had seen in the news reports. From what she had seen you could only expected dirty, toothless, menacing killers when facing pirates.

Instead, the pirate sitting in front of her was clean, relaxed and cute. _No! Stop it_. The redhead was still a pirate, even if she knew how to clean herself and, if you looked at it objectively, was very pretty.

Waverly realised she had just been staring at the redhead and felt her cheeks turn red. A look of amusement spread over Haught’s face as she released Waverly from her gaze to continue reading.

«Brought you some breakfast.» Haught waved in the direction of the desk.

Waverly looked over at the desk and saw the spread of food placed there: Fresh bread, eggs and _was that cheese_? Proper cheese that didn’t come in a plastic pack and had an artificial flavour to it? It sure looked like it.

Waverly carefully made her way over. It smelled delicious. She sat down at the desk and tentatively picked up the bun. It was rare that she ever got fresh bread. And real eggs and cheese? That was usually only served at Christmas. Waverly inhaled the delicious smell of the bread, no longer able to contain herself she threw herself over the food. She almost squealed with joy when she found out that yes, it was in fact real cheese. She hadn’t eaten this well in months.

If there ever was any left over food from the buffets aboard the Minerva they followed a list of superiority as to who got to enjoy it. It was rare that any good food actually made its way down the line to the servers and bar staff. 

Haught remained quiet, focused on her book as Waverly consumed the meal. When the worst of her hunger had been sated, she slowed down a bit and eyed the redhead curiously. She seemed completely engulfed by whatever she was reading. Waverly nervously picked at her food. She had never been very good with silence, even comfortable silence, and this was nowhere near comfortable.

«Am I a prisoner?»

«Not quite» the redhead replied as she turned her head slightly to continue reading.

«Am I supposed stay in here all day?»

Haught shrugged. «Only if you want to.»

Waverly was starting to grow frustrated at the short answers she was receiving. «So I am free to walk around the ship?»

«Not on your own, no. And certain parts of the ship will be off limits for now.»

«So I am a prisoner.» Waverly stated harshly.

Haught glanced up at her. «You are not a prisoner. But you’re not quite free to roam the ship just yet. Once you get acquainted with the ship some more, if you want to go anywhere, I will escort you.»

Waverly crossed her arms in front of her chest. «So I am a prisoner and you are my jailer.»

Haught was still regarding her over the edge of her book as she patiently said: «I am here only for your protection. Both to protect you and to protect our crew from any ill-conceived plans of yours to escape the ship or ideas to alert the Alliance to our location. But no, Waverly, you are not a prisoner.»

Waverly could feel her own defiance rising up in her. Could the redhead not hear herself? Paint it anyway you want, Red, but this was a prisoner situation.

«Fine, then I want to see the ship.» Waverly tried to sound as commanding as she could.

Haught’s gaze shifted from looking directly into Waverly’s eyes to looking her over. Her eyebrow quirked slightly.

«I’ll be more than happy to show you around. But before we do anything the Captain wants to speak with you. I would like to suggest taking a shower first, and maybe changing into some other clothes.»

Waverly looked down at herself, and for the first time since she was abducted she took the time to get a proper look.

One of her sleeves was covered in blood from when she had tried to stop the bleeding, there was a few drops of blood on her chest from where it had dripped down. Her clothes were in general dirty from the abduction itself and Waverly didn’t even need to run her hand over her hair to realise just how disheveled the braid she had put it in last night before her abduction had become.

Waverly looked back up at the redhead whose gaze had shifted towards the dresser on the opposite side of the room.

«Wynonna found some clothes for you. Probably the only thing she owns that isn’t leather or lace.»

Waverly looked over at the small pile of clothes atop the dresser. For a brief moment she considered refusing to shower, as some kind of strike against her captors. But that would hurt herself more than it would them. And she hated feeling icky.

Reluctantly she finished the last of her eggs before she got up and grabbed the clothes.

Haught had turned her attention back to the book. Waverly walked into the bathroom and closed the door and hung the latch to lock it. She put the clothes down and immediately started looking around the bathroom to find anything sharp, or anything that could be used as a weapon. She opened drawers and cabinets, trying to go through them as quietly as possible to find something, anything. It seemed that the redhead had beat her to it because she couldn’t find as much as a pair of tweezers. Waverly groaned and sat down on the toilet. _Damned pirates._

She gave herself a minute to just be annoyed. The problem with being as confused as this was that it was hard to form a plan. And even if she did somehow escape, the Alliance would never accept her back. Waverly ran her fingers over her hair. It felt so helpless, but she refused to give up. She would play along, follow their rules, and observe. Perhaps then a solution would reveal itself. Waverly could be patient.

Grabbing the hem of her hoodie, Waverly pulled it over her head. She felt a tug around her neck as her necklace got caught in the hoodie. She froze. Her arms were tangled up in the hoodie and it covered her face. She tried to wriggle the hoodie back down again, but that only got the necklace more stuck and attempt pulled dangerously at the chain. She worried about breaking it, and she couldn’t manoeuvre her hands down to the back of her neck to unfasten it. _Damn it._ Waverly stretched her hand out of the hoodie and blindly found her way to the door. After some awkward manoeuvring and blind searching she felt the latch underneath her fingers and unhooked it.

The last thing she should do was ask for the redhead’s help in this situation. She was a pirate after all. But so far none of them had actively hurt her or tried to take advantage. And she really didn’t want to ruin her necklace.

«Lady?» Waverly began, her voice muffled by the thick fabric. Raising her voice a bit more she tried again: «Lady? Uhm, H-Haught?»

The thick fabric muted any sounds, so Waverly was unsure if the redhead had heard her. She called: «Lady?» again, a bit louder this time.

A second later she heard the door swing open and she tried her best to keep the blush away from her cheeks.

«Oh» The redhead chuckled.

«Could I get some help?» Waverly asked indignantly, the heat spreading across her entire face. «My necklace got caught on the hoodie.»

She was suddenly very aware that even though she had a thin t-shirt on, she had not put on a bra the night before.

«Of course.» Haught replied and Waverly felt, rather than heard her stepping closer. She jumped a bit as she felt a hand on the back of her shoulder.

«Sorry» Haught said and quickly pulled her hand back. «Could you turn around?»

Waverly just nodded and turned. Haught pulled lightly on the hoodie and Waverly bent her head forward a bit.

«There’s the culprit.» Haught muttered, mostly to herself. She tugged on a wayward string that had gotten caught on the necklace and it snapped, the necklace falling back in place around Waverly’s neck.

«There we go» Haught said quietly as she helped Waverly tug the hoodie off her head.

Waverly immediately took a step away from Haught, pressed the hoodie to her chest and cursed herself for blushing. Haught had a faint smile on her lips, but she averted her eyes as soon as she saw Waverly’s expression.

«Crisis averted.» The redhead chuckled.

«Thanks…» Waverly said quietly, still clutching the hoodie to her chest.

«Don’t mention it. Towels are in there.» Haught gestured towards one of the cabinets as she turned to leave the room.

With one foot outside the door, she paused and turned slightly, not enough to be facing Waverly, but enough for her to see the other woman’s face in profile. Her nose was annoyingly well-shaped.

«My name is Nicole, by the way. Just shout if you need anything else.» Again that small smile ghosted over her face.

Before Waverly could reply, Nicole had shut the door behind her. Waverly frowned to herself and shook her head. These pirates were nothing like anything she had ever imagined.

The clothes that Wynonna had provided her were a bit too big, as Wynonna was a bit taller and wider than herself. She folded the hem of the legs so they wouldn’t hang around her feet, and tied the string on in the waistband of the sweatpants tight so it would actually stay on. The sports bra fit well enough, and the thin sweater was worn but comfortable. The socks didn’t match and the sneakers were a bit too big to fit her and she had to tie them tightly for them to even stay up on her feet.

Waverly used her fingers to comb her hair before putting it in a tight ponytail. Then she thought better of it, she didn’t need to pull her hair back. There was no dress code on Purgatory, and if there was she didn’t care. It could be her little act of rebellion. She let her hair hang loose.

A knock on the door startled her and she bumped her hip into the sink.

«It’s just me.» The redhead - Nicole - said from the other side of the door. «I forgot to put a bandage in there. For your forehead»

Waverly removed the latch and opened the door. Nicole had jump back to avoid being hitby the door.

«Sorry» Waverly said instinctively, then grimaced at the instinct. They were keeping her prisoner after all.

Nicole let out a breath that sounded a bit like a short laugh. «It is fine. Here»

She held out a bandage that was neatly packaged in plastic. The symbol of the Alliance had been stamped on the package and it screamed at her. Stolen goods, probably pirated from a ship that they sunk, taken from people they had killed.

Waverly felt her breakfast churn in her stomach at the thought. At the same time she knew that she shouldn’t be dumb enough to run around the ship with an open wound. It would certainly get infected. As much as one tried, a ship was never entirely clean, and she highly doubted a pirate ship would be clean at all. Waverly took the bandaid and closed the door without saying anything to Nicole.

The wound itself wasn’t deep, but it had yet to form a proper crust. Waverly ripped open the plastic and positioned the bandage over the wound, the adhesive on it sticking to her skin. She ran her fingers along the edges of the bandage to ensure it was stuck.

The sound of plates clattering reached her ears and Nicole gathered the cutlery on the desk.

Waverly looked herself over in the mirror and tried to put on a brave face. _I can do this._

As Waverly walked into the room, Nicole was putting the book she was reading into a shoulder bag she then slung over her shoulder.

«Ready to go then?» That small smile was back.

Waverly just nodded in response. Nicole walked out first and held the door open for Waverly to step out. The ship was swaying slightly as the waves on the ocean were still a bit big. The hallway outside the Captain’s quarters were rather wide, Waverly noted as Nicole closed and locked the door to the Captain’s quarters. There were several more doors that were all closed along the hallway. At the end of each hallway were a set of narrow stairs; one going up, the other going down.

«The Captain’s this way» Nicole said quietly and motioned towards the stairs that went up.

The hallway was big enough for them to walk side by side, and they fell in step next to each other. A swell of the waves threatened to throw Waverly off balance. With lightning reflexes Nicole had grabbed onto her arm to steady her. Waverly braced her other hand against the wall and pulled her arm back from Nicole’s light grip, glaring up at her. Nicole just raised her eyebrow at her before she motioned for Waverly to go first up the stairs.

The stairs led up to a narrow hallway, a window at the end providing extra daylight, and there was a cross section ahead. Waverly stopped at the cross section, turning to look at Nicole. The redhead stepped past Waverly to walk ahead of her, leading the way. On occasion, Nicole would glance over her shoulder, her brown eyes drifting over Waverly, then past her further down the hallway. Finally they came to a stop outside a closed door. Nicole knocked twice, but opened the door before getting a reply.

Nicole stepped in first, Waverly following close behind. Though she had only seen the bridge of the Minerva once, it wasn’t hard to recognise the room she found herself in now as the Bridge of Purgatory.

Standing at the helm was a man who looked to be middle aged. His hairline had receded a bit, and as he turned to look at them, she noticed the moustache. Less overt and grand than Doc’s but still there. He was a bit rotund, but he looked kind.

In the Pilot’s Chair sat a bald man; his skin was dark, his shoulders were broad and packed with muscles. When he turned towards them she could see a handsome face and sharp brown eyes that locked in on Waverly. She assumed this was the Captain.

In the Controller chair was Wynonna; still wearing leather pants, but today she had a loose fitting T-shirt instead of a crop top while her leather jacket was slung over the back of the chair. Wynonna turned too, and gave Waverly a hopeful smile. Waverly ignored her.

The Captain quickly reached towards the control panel, hit a button and any maps or other screens that could give Waverly any indication of their current position was shut off. Not that Waverly could navigate on the ocean even if she had tried.

Though she didn’t salute, Nicole straightened her back and said: «Sir» as the captain approached.

The Captain gave her a short nod before returning his attention to Waverly. A small, very controlled smile spread over his lips.

«Welcome aboard Purgatory, Waverly.» He held out his hand for Waverly to shake. She cautiously accepted. «My name is Xavier Dolls, I am the Captain.»

Waverly just stammered in response. _What the hell kind of pirates were these people? What kind of pirate captain shook their captives hand?_

Not waiting for Waverly to find her words, Dolls let go of her hand and motioned to the man at the helm. «This is Randy Nedley, he is the helmsman.»

Nedley let go of the helm with one hand and took a step towards Waverly, holding out his hand. Waverly stepped closed and carefully shook it.

«Hello, Waverly» he said with a warm smile on his face. «Welcome aboard.»

There was something else in his eyes that Waverly couldn’t put her finger on, but she found him strikingly familiar. Waverly shook her head a bit, there was no way she could have met him before. Nedley let go of her hand, that warm smile still on his face as he stepped back to the helm.

At the controller’s chair, Wynonna had been twirling a pen, increasing the speed until she lost her grip on it. The pen flew over the dashboard, thudded against the glass and fell down in the space between the windows and the dashboard. Wynonna cursed under her breath.

Dolls folded his hands behind his back and cleared his throat to get Waverly’s attention. «While aboard Purgatory, you will follow my orders and the rules to a T, is that understood?»

Waverly nodded.

In the corner of her eye, Waverly could see Wynonna leaning over the dashboard, trying to reach the pen, her ass sticking up in the air.

Doll continued unbothered by Wynonna’s shenanigans. «Stealing from other crew members is strictly forbidden. Stealing food is strictly forbidden. We only have so much water, so taking your time in the shower is frowned upon.» His expression softened a bit. «That last one is more of an advice rather than a rule.»

In the corner of her eye, Wynonna had to push even further forward, resulting in her ass sticking up even further.

«Nedley?» Wynonna’s voice rose from behind the dashboard.

«Hmm?» Nedley grunted and Dolls glanced over his shoulder at Wynonna.

«Are you looking at my ass?»

Nedley sighed deeply. «No, Wynonna, I am not looking at your ass.»

Dolls just shook his head and turned his attention back to Waverly, the stern expression slowly returning as he spoke:

«You are not a prisoner, Waverly. But we cannot risk an unknown running around the ship unchecked. So for now you will be accompanied by Haught or your sister wherever you go. Parts of the ship will be off limits to you until further notice. Is that understood?»

Waverly nodded again, clenching her jaw to try to hide the anger forming in her chest.

«Very good. Any questions?»

Waverly shook her head. In the background, Wynonna had managed to get a hold of the runaway pen and slumped back in her chair with a victorious «Hah!»

Dolls ignored her. «Very good. Haught will help you get situated and show you around.»

«Dolls» Wynonna piped up, starting to get up from the chair. «I can show her around.»

Before Dolls could say anything, Waverly glared at her sister. «No»

Wynonna sat back down, the hurt clear on her face for a split second, before she shrugged and slumped back down in the chair. Nicole shifted her weight from one foot to another.

Dolls glanced between the two sisters, then nodded once. «Right. Well, any further questions can be directed to Haught. Dismissed.»

Waverly turned and headed for the door. Nicole managed a quick: «Sir» to Dolls before she hurried after Waverly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I am bored and can't sleep. So might as well, huh?  
> I feel like I may be setting myself up for failure by just spewing out the chapters I could have saved up and doled out at a reasonable pace. But this is 2020, who the hell knows if the world will even be here tomorrow? 
> 
> I am not the best at writing semi action, but I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Purgatory wasn’t a big ship, and it was certainly completely different from anything Waverly had been taught or shown of pirate ships. The images she had seen of pirate ships in school or in the news showed ramshackle vessels, armed to the teeth with vicious weapons, sculls lining the railings and an all together menacing air around it. Purgatory was clean, sleek and looked well-maintained. There were no skulls in sight. 

Nicole started her tour by bringing her down into the belly of the ship, leading her to the wash room and meeting an older woman named Claire who had a limp and a glass eye, but she was polite and had a kind smile. Claire had given her two laundry bags.

Claire held up the biggest of the two bags. «This one is for your normal clothes» Her voice was low and raspy. She held up the smallest of the bags. «And this one is for your unmentionables.»

Both bags had already been marked with a tag that said: ‘Waverly Earp’ on it. Waverly thanked her, but was very confused at the politeness and the name tag.

Nicole had offered to put the laundry bag in the bag she had hanging over her shoulder, and Waverly had just handed them off. They were barely a few minutes into the tour of the ship and already she was feeling overwhelmed and very confused.

From the Washroom, Nicole led her through one cargo hold, and into a second one that had been turned into a gym. Crew members were lifting weights, running on the treadmills or sparring with each other on the mats placed in the middle of the room. A few of the crew greeted Nicole, and most gave Waverly a curious look. The fact that most of the looks were friendly only confused Waverly even further.

They made their way back up from the lower decks, again the passing crew members greeted Nicole and smiled at Waverly. They rounded a corner on their way to the Galley when the loud rattling of an angry cart-wheel and words shouted in a language Waverly didn’t understand echoed through the halls. Nicole immediately pressed her back against the wall. When Waverly didn’t move, Nicole reached out and pulled Waverly towards the wall.

«Out of the way» She said, stretching her arm across Waverly ensuring that she would stay put against the wall.

A very tan man came rushing down the hallway, his black hair was unkempt and wild and his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. The cart he pushed in front of him was filled with various goods; food Waverly realised. The man shouted something as he dashed past them at breakneck speed. Nicole responded with a big smile in the same language. It sounded Spanish.

Waverly glanced up at the redhead and saw the dimples that framed her smile. Again, Waverly could not quite wrap her head around the mission oriented kidnapper and this very cute, smiling woman being the same person. _Pirates weren’t allowed to have dimples, were they? Shouldn’t there be a law or something against pirates being… well, being cute?_

«That’s Pablo. He’s a bit eccentric, but he’s a damn good cook. That is more valuable than gold out here.» Nicole said, her smile and dimples still clear on her face.

Waverly couldn’t help but offer a small smile before she remembered herself and schooled her face into a neutral expression.

Nicole continued walking towards the galley. The space was rather comfortable and they met Shorty, the busboy. Though calling a man in his late fifties a busboy felt wrong. Shorty was also the first person on this ship who actually looked anything remotely like a pirate; his arms were full of tattoos with nautical themes and sculls, he wore an eyepatch and even had a peg-leg. But his laugh was billowing and infectious, and his jokes on point.

Wherever they went Waverly noticed that anything that could be nailed to the floor, walls or ceiling, was nailed down and bolted securely. To some extent they had done that on the Minerva, but on Purgatory everything that didn’t _have_ to be freestanding, was nailed down. It had to be extremely annoying during dinner; not being able to push your chair closer to the table.

After Shorty had let them preview the lunch, Nicole pushed on, leading her to the first of the two saloons on the ship. The first one was clearly set up more like a bar, while the second one seemed more like a place of relaxation; comfortable chairs and couches filled the room, along the walls were shelves filled with books and games, and there was even a big game table there.

As they entered the second saloon they found someone else already there. A young man, around her own age was securing the contents on the shelves by pushing plexiglass covers between the shelves and securing it with screws.

Nicole frowned at this. «Pete? Are we scheduled for Turbo today?»

The man, Pete, turned towards them, holding a few screws in the corner of his mouth as his hands finished securing the plexiglass.

«Not really» his words were a bit mumbled on account of the screws. «But Nav noticed an Alliance ship at the edge of our radar. Cap doesn’t want to take any chances, so we’re burning the turbo to get out of their territory.»

The speakers on the ship’s intercom sparked to life just as Pete finished talking and Nedley’s steady voice could be heard over the speakers:

«Attention crew. Captain has ordered Turbo in 15 minutes. Finish up your work and secure your area.»

Nicole frowned and turned to Waverly. «We’re gonna have to finish up the tour after Turbo. Come on»

Nicole headed out of the saloon at a speed that forced Waverly’s much shorter legs into a slow jog to keep up.

«What is Turbo?» Waverly asked anxiously.

Nicole stopped to let a few crew members that were hurrying in the other direction pass. As they waited for them to pass she glanced back at Waverly, that small smile playing on her lips again.

«A very long and complicated explanation of how engines on battle worthy ships work short; we’re going to be moving really, really fast. So we need to strap in, or we’re gonna be thrown around like rag dolls.»

Before Waverly could really process what Nicole had said, they were moving again.

The commotion around her increased as the crew started rushing around the ship, closing hatches and locking down anything freestanding.

Nicole expertly navigated the narrow halls and numerous ladders and staircases, while Waverly got more and more confused as to exactly where they were on the ship.

Waverly finally realised where they were headed when they entered a hallway that had a familiar staircase leading up at the end of it. Nicole came to an abrupt stop, leaning through a bulkhead door. Waverly crashed into her, unable to stop in time. Nicole didn’t react beyond reaching out and steadying Waverly. Instead she focused on getting the attention of a young woman at the end of the other hall.

«Chrissy!» She called.

The woman turned towards them.

«Do you know where Calamity Jane is?» Nicole asked hastily.

Chrissy nodded. «She was with Doc down in the gunroom just now.»

«Could you go get her?» Nicole motioned towards Waverly, as if that was enough explanation as to why she couldn’t get this Jane herself.

Chrissy nodded again and started down a different hallway. Just as abruptly as she had stopped, Nicole started moving again and again Waverly had to jog to keep up.

Finally they found themselves in the officer’s hallway. Nicole pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked the door closest to the staircase. She threw the door open and stepped inside. Unsure what to do, not quite comfortable to stay in the hallway once she saw other crew members come jogging down from the deck above, Waverly darted after her.

This cabin was much smaller than the Captain’s quarters. It had a single bed imbedded into the wall, making a nice little den. The bedsheets had been made with the same military precision as Dolls had made his own. There was a small dresser against one wall, a single table with a single chair. A small cage was bolted to the wall next to the dresser. It was padded inside. Waverly frowned at this. What the hell did Nicole need the cage for?

Nicole was already putting away a frame in one of the drawers. She moved around the room, securing and putting away books, items, tools. She worked quickly and effectively. People passed the open door outside and Waverly didn’t quite know where to place herself, so she decided to lean against the closed, narrow door that she assumed led to a private bathroom. She didn’t get to stay put for long, as Nicole finished securing the items in the room and motioned that she needed to get into the bathroom. Waverly stepped aside and Nicole rushed in. The bathroom was tiny, barely enough room for the toilet andsink, but at least it was private. Nicole put the toiletries lined up on the edge of the sink into a cabinet and secured the door.

The speakers sparked back to life, but this time it was Wynonna’s voice that boomed across the intercom.

«Who-ho, bitches! T-minus 10 minutes to Turbo. Get your asses in gear and finish up. Its almost strap-on time.» There was a short pause. «Of course I meant ‘strap-in time’. Strap-in.» 

The sound of footsteps rapidly pounding against steel caught her attention. Waverly turned towards the door only to find Chrissy rushing in. In her arms she was carrying a red and orange striped cat. Waverly could only assume this was Calamity Jane. Chrissy ignored Waverly and held Calamity Jane out to Nicole.

«Thanks» Nicole smiled. The cat meowed grumpily at the rapid exchange of hands. «Yeah, yeah. I know you don’t like it, but bear with me here.» Nicole cooed at the cat and pressed a kiss between her ears.

Calamity Jane meowed again, less grumpily this time. Nicole manoeuvred her into the padded cage and closed the door, jostling it a bit to make sure it was secure. Calamity Jane playfully swatted at her fingers and Nicole chuckled.

Nicole went over the cabin again, ensuring that everything was secure before she hurried outside, Waverly following close behind. Nicole locked the door and continued down the hallway.

They entered the bridge just as Wynonna, who was now at the helm, held the mic to the intercom to her lips and with a grin all but shouted:

«Tick, tick, children. 5 minutes till Turbo. You better hustle or we are leaving you behind in our wake.»

Nedley stood next to her, pushing buttons and plotting something into the navigation system in the helm dashboard. Wynonna turned to Nicole and Waverly who, a bit breathlessly, hurried inside.

«Hey, Deputy Dip-shit, Waves. Nice of you to join us.» There was something wild in Wynonna’s grin. She almost vibrated with excitement.

Waverly could feel her stomach drop. It was bad enough that they were apparently going to be driving much faster than Waverly was comfortable with, but Wynonna was going to pilot the boat? Waverly liked this less and less for every second that passed them by.

Dolls finished whatever he was doing over in the pilot’s chair and hurried to a cabinet in the back of the room. He pulled out what looked like a padded steel board, which he rushed over to Wynonna. The contraption was secured in a slot in the floor right behind the helm.

Nicole turned towards the back wall, where a series of what looked like turtle shells lined the wall. With practised fingers she quickly fiddled with the control panel. Two of the shells opened to reveal sturdy padded chairs with a complicated harness.

«Sit» Nicole commanded at Waverly.

As Waverly sat down, too nervous about what was about to happen to even think about protesting, Nicole moved over to Dolls to help him secure the board behind Wynonna.

Wynonna had slapped away Nedley’s hands and continued pressing buttons and preparing for Turbo. As she plotted something in, Nedley jumped back in and pushed her hands away.

«Are you trying to kill us, Wynonna?» He asked sharply as he worked rapidly to fix whatever she had put in.

Wynonna gave him a half-hearted apologetic smile. «Whoops»

She let Nedley plot in the rest, instead she picked up the radio as Nicole and Dolls finished bolting the support behind her in place and started fastening the many straps that would keep her in place, starting with her feet.

«Bridge to Engine, you copy?» She stuck out her tongue at Nedley who had given her a stern look after seeing something on one of the many screens.

«Engine copies» was the reply.

«How’re you doing? She ready?» The grin on Wynonna’s face seemed to be a permanent addition now. It made Waverly’s hands shake. Whatever made Wynonna this giddy could not be a good thing.

«Engines are ready for Turbo.»

«Oh yeah, baby, let me hear her purr!» Wynonna shouted into the radio.

There was a moment of silence before the radio piped back up, transmitting a sound that sounded less like purring and more like angry rumbling. Wynonna whooped happily and put the radio down again.

Nedley finished plotting in the course and turned to Waverly. She saw her moment to get some damn answers and asked, her eyes wide:

«Shouldn’t you be piloting the ship?»

Nedley grimaced. «The knees aren’t what they used to be. Turbo is hell on the joints.»

«He is too old!» Wynonna laughed.

Nedley gave Waverly his most reassuring smile and headed for the Controller’s chair where Wynonna had previously been seated to strap himself in.

Dolls and Nicole had finished securing Wynonna’s feet. Nicole stood up and pulled a strap across Wynonna’s chest while Dolls secured another one across her hip. Waverly did not miss the wriggling of Wynonna’s eyebrows as Dolls’ face was positioned right above her pelvis. Dolls just rolled his eyes at her.

Waverly focused on trying to figure out her own harness. There were so many straps and pads and god knows what else. Waverly felt panic starting to rise as she realised she wouldn’t be able to figure this one out in time.

As if summoned by her rising panic, Nicole was suddenly crouching in front of her.

«Here»

Nicole placed the neck support and started securing Waverly into the seat. Though the panic had been slowed, it didn’t stop Waverly from being terrified of what was about to go down.

Nicole spoke in a quiet voice as she worked with the straps. «Now, Turbo will probably make you feel sick, it usually does the first time. Just… try not to puke.»

«Shouldn’t Nedley be piloting the ship?» Waverly hissed.

«It’s gonna be alright. Wynonna might be slightly insane, but she knows what she’s doing.» Nicole glanced over her shoulder at Wynonna who was fiddling with the intercom again. «Mostly»

«Mostly?!» Waverly blurted out.

Nicole just gave her hand a quick reassuring squeeze as she finished securing Waverly and got into the seat next to her, strapping herself in. Dolls moved over to the pilot’s chair and did the same.

Wynonna put on a headset and pushed a few more buttons first on the dashboard, then on the headset.

«Connect to intercom» She said, waited a beat then shouted: «One minute till Turbo, it’s now or never shitheads. Final warning.»

Waverly’s entire body was now shaking. She clutched the harness and swallowed heavily. She had rarely been afraid on the Minerva. It was basically a floating city, its behemoth form only truly moved by the biggest of waves. Purgatory was much smaller and if Turbo was anything like what Waverly was currently imagining, this whole thing was going to be hell.

Nicole finished strapping into the seat just as Wynonna said. «Connect to intercom. On my mark engage turbo. Ten, nine, eight-»

Waverly’s heart started racing quicker and quicker for every second they got closer to Turbo. It was as if the ship itself slowed down and froze as they waited for Turbo. A deep rumbling moved through the ship as something new and powerful came online. Waverly could already feel the forces building up somewhere down in the engines of Purgatory.

In the corner of her eye, Waverly could swear that she saw Nedley tapping his shoulders, forehead and stomach in the shape of a cross.

«Six, get ready to engage, four, three, two, one.»

Waverly held her breath.

«Go!»

The deep rumbling grew more and more intense and high-pitched until it was deafening shriek. One second, Purgatory was moving at a comfortable pace and the next it raced across the waves at incredible speeds.

It was brutal. When the pull of the g-forces at play weren’t threatening to pull the skin of her bones, the violent shocks of skipping from the top of one wave to the other shook Waverly to her core.

Wynonna squealed gleefully as the ship flew across the ocean. Waverly desperately tried to gasp for air. This was certainly how she was going to die. She didn’t know when she had done so, but she became aware that one of her hands had grabbed Nicole’s and she knew the grip was painfully tight.

Part of her tried to will herself to let go, but the other part of her; the part that was winning figured that this was the pirate who had kidnapped her, brought her aboard this wretched ship, confused her with her own and the crew’s friendliness, then subjugated her to this unique form of torture. If Waverly needed to hold her hand to get through this then so be it. And if a few bones were broken or sprained in the process it was no less than what the pirate deserved.

Waverly had no idea how long Turbo lasted, but it felt like an eternity. There was a point where Waverly just had to lock her eyes on the frame between two windows and held it there. A combination of desperately fighting to not hurl and the ever-present panic she had felt during all of this had sent Waverly into a semi-catatonic state. The fact that the ship had slowed down and was moving at normal speed didn’t even register.

It wasn’t until Nicole said: «Waverly» in a voice that clearly indicated that this was not the first time she had said it that Waverly snapped back to reality.

Immediately her nausea increased ten-fold. Her entire body screamed for mercy and a throbbing headache started somewhere behind her eyes. Waverly barely managed to shift her eyes to look at Nicole who was leaning forward as much as she could in her seat.

«Waverly, I’m going to need my hand back.» The redhead said softly.

Waverly let go and pushed the hand away for good measure. She fixed her eyes back on the frame between the window again. If she moved too much she knew she was going to puke, and the only way the sick had to go was down into her lap. So she could not puke.

Dolls was already working on releasing Wynonna from the board. In contrast to Waverly’s own fearful shaking, Wynonna was shaking from the adrenaline still coursing through her veins.

The grin had stayed in place this entire time and Wynonna was laughing maniacally, shouting various forms of: «Did you see that?» and «Tell me how good of a skipper I am» at Dolls.

Suddenly Nicole was blocking her view as she crouched down in front of Waverly and started working on opening the harness. The head of red hair was blocking her view of the window frame, but Waverly was too scared to move her gaze and instead stared at her hairline.

«The first Turbo is always brutal. You did good.» Nicole said quietly as Wynonna was demanding reports form the rest of the ship over the intercom. One by one each section of the ship gave the all clear.

Nicole released the harness as she continued speaking softly. «My first Turbo I puked all over myself. Then had to sit through the rest of it in my own sick.»

Waverly wanted to bark at her to hurry up or she would have to walk through the entire ship covered in Waverly’s sick, but she didn’t trust her body enough at the moment to even open her mouth.

Finally Nicole finished releasing her from all the straps and stood up. She held out her hands and Waverly let her pull her out of the seat.

Wynonna had leaned out to peek at them, her waist and legs still stuck in the harness. «Look at that. No puking. Holy shit, Waves. I’m proud of you.»

Waverly took a deep breath before she ran as fast as she could over to the trashcan that was bolted to the wall in the corner, ripped off the lid and hurled.

Waverly was unsure exactly how she got here but she thought she was in the officer’s hallway again. She was dizzy, nauseous and her entire body was aching. Her arm was flung over Nicole’s shoulders and honestly, Nicole was doing most of the walking. In her dazed state Waverly registered the sound of a door unlocking and felt herself being manoeuvred through it.

«Put her on the bed.» Wynonna said.

That made Waverly jerk fully awake. She forced her eyes to open fully and focus. From what she could see the cabin was an absolute mess. Clothes, shoes and what Waverly could only assume was just trash was piled up against the back wall of the room where the forces of Turbo had pushed it back. The bed was disheveled and Waverly didn’t even want to think of how long it had been since they had been washed. It was very clear that Wynonna herself had not prepared for Turbo.

Beyond the general mess the room was relatively empty of any personal effects or decorations. With one exception, Waverly noted as she looked at the wall over the dresser. Fastened to the wall was a worn piece of paper. Waverly squinted to get a better look. She immediately recognised it.

A child’s painting; Waverly’s painting to be exact. She could remember painting it. She had been 8 years old and the school had managed to get hold of some paints. Each of the kids had been allowed one piece of paper and some of the paint to create their own picture. Waverly had painted herself and Wynonna, holding hands.

It was by no means a good painting, and the only reason one would know it was the two of them was because Waverly had written their names above the two figures; one larger than the other, both with brown hair.

It was clear that the paper had been folded and unfolded many times, there was a tear in the paper close to one corner and the paper itself was stained and yellowed, but there it was; the painting Waverly had given Wynonna 13 years ago.

«No» Waverly forced out, her voice groggy and heavy. Nicole stopped moving, a bit uncertain.

«Waverly, you need to rest.» Wynonna said, impatience clear in her voice.

Waverly tried to look determined and fierce, but she knew she hadn’t succeeded.

Yet she forced the words out. «Not here. Not in your room.»

Wynonna sighed heavily. «Baby girl, you gotta stop this tantrum.»

Waverly pushed herself off Nicole and clenched her fists at her sides. Though her body was screaming at her to stop, she poured whatever energy she had left into her anger and forced herself to stand on her own accord.

«Stop calling me that.» She enunciated every word carefully, every word dripping with the rage she felt inside.

Wynonna’s eyebrows knitted and she clenched her jaw.

«She can borrow my room.» Nicole piped up carefully.

Waverly nodded once and turned to leave the room. Nicole hurried after her, while Wynonna followed a few steps behind them. Waverly tried to look patient as she waited for Nicole to unlock the door, but secretly she begged Nicole to hurry up before her strength completely left her and she collapsed again.

Finally Nicole opened the door and Waverly pushed past her to collapse on the bed, not even bothering to take the time with the blankets. She curled up into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut.

«Nicole» Wynonna growled quietly out in the hallway.

«Just give her some space.» Nicole said softly.

Wynonna just groaned in reply.

«Why don’t you go down to the Galley and get some crackers and water from Shorty? She needs something to settle her stomach.»

«Fine.» Wynonna huffed. «You keep an eye on her, got it?»

«Got it.»


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a lot with this chapter. After editing and reediting I arrived at this. Not my best work but it sets up alot of stuff in the later chapters which have been written and i'm currently editing. The ADHD-gods seems to be looking kindly on this endeavour of mine. For now at least. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

Calamity Jane meowed unhappily as she was let out of the cage. Waverly squinted out through her lashes, unable or unwilling to open her eyes further. Nicole was kneeling on the floor, running her hand along the cat’s neck and back to check for injuries, cooing softly and quietly at her. She kept scratching and running her hand over Calamity Jane’s fur for a while. When she was satisfied that the cat was alright, she opened the door to the room and Calamity Jane darted out. Then Nicole moved around a bit, dimming the lights, leaving only a small lamp over the table on so that she herself could read while Waverly rested.

A few minutes later, Wynonna stopped by; delivering crackers and water. Luckily she didn’t push to see or speak with Waverly. Nicole had quietly thanked Wynonna, closed the door again and placed the crackers on the nightstand next to Waverly without saying anything.

Waverly had focused on her breathing and keeping her nausea at bay as she was suspended in what felt like limbo as her body tried to recover from Turbo. Hours passed by as she existed in this space of aching and exhaustion.

Dinner came and went. Nicole had softly asked her if she wanted food, but Waverly just shook her head. Since she wasn’t allowed to leave Waverly’s side, Nicole radioed in that she needed food delivered to the room and shortly after it was.

Waverly covered her nose as the smell of the food filled the room, kicking her nausea back into gear. Nicole ate fast and placed her plate out in the hallway.

After some gentle urging from Nicole, Waverly had eaten some crackers. Mostly to make her shut up and leave Waverly alone again. Waverly had managed to keep them down, but she wasn’t inclined to eat anything else.

At some point over the next hours Waverly had fallen asleep. When she was woken from her slumber, she was surprisingly warm and she felt the soft vibrations of purring against her chest. She realised that Calamity Jane had jumped up to join her on the bed, and that a blanket was covering her. The reason she had woken up again was soft voices coming from the open door.

«Here» Wynonna said quietly.

Waverly lifted her head a bit so see Wynonna shoving a whole mattress through the door. Nicole took it and pushed it further into the room. Waverly relaxed her head again and pretended to be asleep.

«Need anything else?»

«No, I think we’re good.» Nicole replied.

«Keep her safe, deputy.» Wynonna said sternly. «And if you try any… funny business with my sister, I’ll keelhaul you.»

Nicole chuckled. «Unlike you, I am able to keep it in my pants.»

Waverly heard the clattering of Wynonna’s many bracelets clinking together as she gesticulated. «I’m watching you, Haught.»

«Good night, Wynonna.» Nicole said in a sing-song voice as she closed the door.

Waverly couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. Even though it had been many years since Waverly had been around Wynonna, she couldn’t remember meeting someone who handled Wynonna quite like Nicole. She forced the smile from her lips as she heard the padding of feet across the floor and the mattress being dragged behind.

Nicole placed the mattress on the floor below the bed and opened a drawer, pulling out clean sheets. Waverly opened her eyes slightly, trying to look without revealing that she had woken up.

Nicole had changed into a pair of big training shorts and a loose t-shirt. Now that Nicole was no longer wearing the tight-fitting jacket with the high collar, Waverly got a better glimpse of the burn scars she had seen the night before. It seemed to start at the nape of her neck and spread across her shoulder and down her upper arm. The pink, melted skin stood in stark contrast to Nicole’s otherwise fair skin. Nicole’s hair fell in front of her face as she kneeled next to the mattress.

Waverly shifted slightly and Calamity Jane mrew-ed in surprise at the movement and the cat’s body tensed. Instinctively, Waverly’s hand moved to pet the cat. The purring was calming and the warmth of another living creature curled against her chest felt nice. She didn’t want her to leave.

Nicole glanced up at her and noticed she was awake.

«Did she wake you?» Nicole asked, her voice barely above a whisper. «If she disturbs you I can-»

«No» Waverly said quickly, wrapping her arm a bit more around Calamity Jane who was settling back down, her purring intensifying. «She can stay.» 

Nicole smiled at that, a closed lipped smile which only caused one of her dimples to show up.

Waverly looked away from her smile and down at the mattress, the covers halfway on. «Are you gonna sleep in here?» She asked quietly.

Nicole rubbed her neck as she pursed her lips just a little. «We’re not supposed to leave your side…» She began hesitantly. «And since you don't want to sleep in Wynonna’s room.» Nicole let out a short nervous laugh. «Well, I guess I’m your new roommate.»

Waverly just nodded. Even if she did protest, the alternative to rooming up with Nicole was probably being locked in a room alone. She preferred to share a room, even if she was sharing it with a pirate. Who had dimples and was kind.

Waverly buried her face in Calamity Jane’s warm fur. This entire ship was so confusing. Nothing was anything like it should be. These pirates were kind and polite and warm, still there was some part of her who just waited for the pretence to fall away; for the kindness and warmth to fade away and show them for the true pirates they were. Keeping your guard up when everyone around you acted the way these pirates did was exhausting.

Part of her wanted to believe that everything was true, that nothing around her was a lie and that everything was as it seemed. But everything she had learned, everything she knew screamed at her to be on guard. They are pirates. They cannot be trusted. They shouldn’t be trusted.

Nothing made sense and she didn’t know who or what to trust, and no one was giving her any answers. If Wynonna did have some big plot, some reason for taking her from the Alliance she had no idea what it could be. She was not important, she held no special knowledge of the inner workings of the Alliance. She was a bartender for gods sake.

But Wynonna doing this just because she wanted to keep her safe made no sense either. This wasn’t safe. Being outside Alliance territory was not safe, certainly not while out on the sea. 

A question started forming in her mind. Almost like an ill-timed sneeze. Waverly could feel it coming, she knew that she shouldn’t ask it, yet it was formed in her head and it had to be let out. She had to ask:

«Why am I here?»

Nicole looked up at her, frowning. «What do you mean?»

«Why am I here?» Waverly lifted her head from the soft refuge of Calamity Jane’s fur and looked at Nicole. «On this ship? Why did Wynonna have you kidnap me?»

Nicole slowly stopped moving. Her hands, still holding the sheet, rested on her thighs. Her brown eyes searched Waverly’s face. Then she inhaled deeply.

«I think that is a conversation you should have with your sister, not me.» The look in those brown eyes wasn’t one of pity, it was closer to empathy. «I know that all of this seems crazy. I know how scared you are. But the reason for you being here is Wynonna’s story to tell, not mine.»

Nicole words could have sounded hard. They could have sounded like a deflection. But her brown eyes were still filled with empathy and her voice soft and understanding.

Waverly tore her eyes away from Nicole and chewed on the inside of her cheek. She was still angry at Wynonna. Not just for kidnapping her, but also for leaving. She had left Waverly behind and disappeared. The only reason that Waverly even knew Wynonna was alive and not dead somewhere was the occasional visit from the Oceanic Deputies to ask if she had heard anything from them. And each time Waverly had opened the door to find the deputies standing there she thought; _This is the time they come to tell me she’s dead._

Nicole was still looking at her, waiting for Waverly to reply.

«Hmm» was all Waverly said as she pressed her cheek against the cat’s warm fur.

«Try to get some more sleep.» Nicole said softly and continued preparing the mattress. Waverly glanced at her occasionally as she finished up and went to shut off the lights. With the lights off, the room was pitch black. Waverly listened as Nicole padded back across the floor and settled down on the mattress. It didn’t take long until her breathing slowed and she was asleep, leaving Waverly alone in the darkness mulling over everything.

The loud complaintive meowing of Calamity Jane, pulled Waverly from her sleep.

«Stop being so dramatic.» Nicole said in mock scolding.

Calamity Jane’s meowing intensified. The lever on the door groaned as Nicole opened it.

«Go on, go down and scream at Shorty instead.»

The cat let out a happy chirp and slipped out of the cabin. Waverly yawned and stretched.

«Good morning» Nicole smiled over her shoulder as she shut the door again.

«Morning» Waverly smiled back, then remembered that she was a prisoner on a pirate ship and Nicole was one of her jailers.

Prisoners shouldn’t smile at their pirate jailers, even if they do have dimples when they smile. Waverly forced the smile away.

If Nicole noticed the change in attitude, she didn’t comment on it. Instead she sat down on the chair and started putting on her boots.

«Wynonna came by with some fresh clothes.» Nicole nodded her head towards the small pile on the dresser.

A fresh pair of socks, a tank top and clean underwear. As much as Waverly hated to accept anything from Wynonna, she had to admit it was thoughtful of her sister to make sure that she didn’t have to walk around in dirty clothes. _But not thoughtful enough to not abandon me,_ Waverly reminded herself.

Waverly just _hmm-ed_ in response and slung her feet over the edge of the bed. The steel beneath her feet was cold and sent a shiver up her spine. Nicole had lifted the mattress and secured it to the wall next to the bed, so they didn’t have to stumble over it.

Waverly stretched again as she stood up, reaching her arms towards the ceiling, then bent forward at the waist to touch her hands to the floor. She held that pose for a few seconds before she twisted her torso to the left facing the wall, a few seconds later she twisted over to the right facing Nicole. The redhead was staring intently at her own shoelaces, slowly tying the knot with a slight frown on her face. Waverly returned to resting her palms flat on the floor for a few seconds more before standing back up.

The echo of an ache was still present from the Turbo, but she felt much better today. With the exception of her stomach; it growled angrily at her. Waverly patted her stomach to calm it. It didn’t help.

She grabbed the clothes Wynonna had left and opened the door to the bathroom. It was exceedingly small. She wondered how Nicole could even fit comfortably in there. Then she tilted her head a bit, trying to map out in her mind how she was going to manoeuvre in the small space to change.

«Yeah, it’s not most roomy» Nicole said apologetically as she got up from the chair. «Here, why don’t I wait in there and you can change out here.»

«Thanks» Waverly said quietly.

Nicole just flashed her a bright smile as she entered the bathroom, she had almost shut the door when she paused. «Hold on» She opened the cabinet and brought out a cloth, which she wet before handing it off to Waverly. «I always prefer to have a bit of a cat-wash in the morning.»

Waverly accepted the cloth and smiled. «Thank you.»

«You’re welcome.» Nicole shut the door behind her.

Waverly put the cloth down on the dresser and started undressing. Her eyes drifted towards the unguarded door. She could just run out, and Nicole would be slowed down enough to maybe not notice where she had run off to. But then what? She would only be able to hide for so long, and the pirates who lived on the ship knew it infinitely better than she did. Waverly sighed quietly and worked as quickly as she could, undressing, using the cloth to quickly wash herself before putting on the fresh clothes.

Nicole lead the way down to the galley. A whole hallway away the sound of people talking and laughing reached her ears. Waverly took a step closer to Nicole, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. So far no one had tried to hurt her, but they were pirates after all. The galley was filled with people, some where smiling and laughing, others were rubbing their eyes, tiredly trying to drink their coffee and wake up for the day to come. Waverly immediately spotted Wynonna at a table that stood opposite rows of tables and benches for the crew; the officer’s row.

Waverly recognised Nedley sitting at the same table, as well as two men who had their backs turned to her. One of them was wearing a cowboy hat. The Captain was nowhere in sight.

Nicole put a gentle hand on her shoulder and pressed lightly, signalling for Waverly to follow her. They walked over to a counter. Shorty stood behind it with a spotty apron, a ladle and a bright smile. Nicole handed Waverly a steel tray. Waverly inspected it quickly; it looked clean enough.

«Mornin’ ladies» Shorty greeted with a big smile. Nicole held out her tray and Shorty slapped down a healthy serving of what looked like porridge. So the eggs and fresh buns were a one-time thing, Waverly thought to herself.

«Morning» Nicole greeted as she picked up an apple and placed it on her tray. Waverly followed Nicole, mimicking her. They got porridge and one fruit, Waverly chose an orange, and a glass of either lemon water or orange water.

Waverly couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose; she had never liked lemon water. It was necessary out at sea, especially on long journeys, to provide extra nutrition for the crew. The Minerva had offered sweetly flavoured water, the flavoured powder was packed with nutrients and minerals you would need. Mixing water with fruit juice was the poor man’s way of doing it. It provided nutrition but mixing fruit juice and water without anything else did not taste good.

She chose the orange water. Not much, but slightly better than the bitter taste of lemon water.

Wynonna noticed them through the crowd and gestured for them to come join them at the table. Before Waverly could react Nicole was already headed over.

As they approached the table the two other men turned to look at them. Waverly recognised the man in the cowboy hat; Doc.

She glared at him.

The man sitting next to Doc was short and thin, Waverly guessed they would be about the same size if they stood next to each other. His skin was brown, his expression open and he had a dopey smile on his face as they approached.

Wynonna patted the empty bench next to her. Waverly turned the scowl she had given Doc to her sister and demonstratively sat down next to Nedley; as far away from Wynonna as she could get. Nicole sat down opposite her, next to the young man with the dopey smile. The unnamed man ignored Nicole’s arrival but leaned over the table towards Waverly:

«You must be the mythic younger Earp Sister» His voice was a bit familiar. «I’m Jeremy» He grinned and held out his hand, solving the mystery of where Waverly had heard his voice before. Waverly reached over the table and shook it lightly.

Doc grabbed his hat and placed it on his chest before he bowed his hand slightly at Waverly.

«If you would be so kind as to allow me to reintroduce myself» He started, the puppy-dog look in his eyes could almost be laughed at. «And to offer you my most heartfelt apology for my deception and your harsh extraction.»

 _For kidnapping me you mean_ , Waverly wanted to correct him, but she bit her tongue and just nodded at him before she looked down at her food to avoid any further conversation.

Nedley leaned over, clearly not catching on to her wish to be left alone. He had a warm smile on his face. «How are you settling in, little one?»

Waverly frowned and looked up at him. Was he really asking her how she was settling into her captivity?

Nedley’s smile was warm and questioning. Waverly, not knowing how to answer the question just said: «Fine»

Wynonna leaned around Nedley and inserted herself in the conversation. «It’ll get better once we get you some of your own underwear, huh, Waverly? Which reminds me, could you write down your sizes? We’re making landfall tomorrow, so I thought I could get some stuff for you.»

They were going on a raid. They were pirates and they were going on a raid.

«I am not going to tell you my sizes so you will know what to look for while you rob some poor bastard blind.» Waverly hissed.

Wynonna glanced over at Doc, who sucked his lips in to try to hide the smile that was trying to spread across his face.

Wynonna looked back at Waverly. «Alright. Good to know. But could you please tell me your sizes so I know what to look for when buying it?»

Doc snickered, but when Nicole shot him a look he quickly tried to conceal it as coughing.

Waverly didn’t know what to say. She stammered a bit, glanced at Nicole who just gave her a reassuring smile. Not that Waverly could trust that. They were pirates. But they seemed to be telling the truth. Her head started hurting and her chest was aching so she just looked at Wynonna and said:  
«I’m not gonna do it here.»

Wynonna smiled and winked. «We write it down a little later. I’m going to need it written down, because you know me. That shit is gonna go in one ear and out the other.»

Waverly ignored her attempt at continuing the conversation and looked down at her food again, trying her best to convey that she was not interested in getting any more questions or for them to try to include her. She just wanted to eat in peace.

The others at the table seemed to finally catch on and fell into comfortable conversation. Waverly would occasionally glance up, seeing Nicole’s dimples as she smiled at something Nedley said, or Wynonna’s wolfish smile as she was amused by her own jokes about the others, or the way Doc’s moustache wriggled when he snickered, or Jeremy’s numerous and completely unintelligible references to something he called pop-culture.

The conversation did shine a light on the various roles of the officers onboard. Doc was the gunnery chief and Jeremy was the Chief of Communication. Nicole’s role however was still obscured.

Occasionally Waverly’s gaze would drift around the room too. Most people paid her no mind, but her eyes landed on a man with a buzzcut and a scruff of a beard on his chin. He was glaring at her. When he saw that Waverly had noticed him, he quickly averted his gaze. A little later when Waverly’s gaze moved back to him, he was back to staring intently. Again his gaze darted away, but the sour expression stayed on his face. Waverly focused on her meal again but couldn’t stop the shiver going up her spine. She committed his face to memory, filing it away under people on this ship to stay far away from. It was bad enough to be around the friendly pirates. She did not want to cross paths with an unfriendly one.

Life on a ship when you don’t have a job and you’re not allowed to really go anywhere or do anything was quite possibly the most boring thing Waverly had ever been part of, and they were only a few hours into the second day of her captivity. Since most of the ship was still off limits, they only had the option of staying in Nicole’s room or in one of the saloons. Nicole had brought them to the Game Room, as they called it.

Waverly had tried reading, but found she had a hard time focusing. This entire ship left her confused. Wynonna had her kidnapped, then claimed it was to protect her, then claimed she was brainwashed and refused to tell her more. Then the pirates around her were nice and respectful and it was so confusing. 

In the back of her head she heard a small voice, one that had been drilled into her since she was a child; Pirates are dangerous. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. Only the Alliance is safe.

Yet these pirates were nothing like they were supposed to. They had warm smiles and dimples and treated her respectfully. She couldn’t trust it, but she couldn’t ignore it either. It was all too damn confusing.

Waverly closed the book she had been trying and failing to read with a loud bang. Nicole who was curled up in a chair not too far away startled at the sound, and looked at Waverly questioningly.

«Sorry» Waverly muttered.

«Bored?»

Waverly leaned her head back on the headrest and groaned. «It is excruciating.»

Nicole chuckled. «We could go down to the gym? That usually helps me pass the hours around here.»

Waverly just nodded; too bored and desperate for a change of scenery to even care that she had never been in or used a proper gym before in her life.

The gym was empty when they arrived. Nicole had changed into a set of skin-tight pants and t-shirt, the material light and breathable, her heavy belt was still strapped around her waist, knife and communicator securely clasped there. The belt looked entirely out of place with the rest of her outfit. She had exchanged her heavy boots for sneakers. Waverly didn’t really have much else than the clothes she was currently wearing. Nicole had offered to loan her some training clothes, but if Wynonna’s clothes were too big, Nicole’s would be even bigger. Besides, Waverly had no intention of actually working out.

Nicole dumped her belt on the bench that stood against one wall and walked to the other side of the room where two treadmills waited. Waverly had seen those kinds of machines before, but never actually tired one. Nicole jumped onto one of them and started pushing some buttons.

«Could I try?» Waverly asked, curious to try these machines that had always been a bit out of her reach.

«Of course» Nicole said, then glanced down at her shoes. «Though, I think we’ll keep you at a walking pace.»

Nicole had programmed it for her and after some trial and error with learning how to match the pace the mill was setting, she was starting to get the hang of it.

So Waverly walked while Nicole first jogged, then ran next to her. When Nicole had finished her warm-up, she stopped her machine and walked over to one of the punching bags. Waverly could still see her in the mirrors that lined the wall in front of the treadmills.

Nicole removed her shirt and threw it the bench next to her belt. She was now only wearing a sports bra and the skin tight pants. Waverly averted her gaze. Or tried to. Nicole was right behind her and there were few places Waverly could look without seeing her in the corner of her eye. Waverly found her gaze drifting back to the rhythmic drumming of her strikes against the punching bag. Nicole would punch, dodge and occasionally kick the bag as she danced around it.

Waverly’s eyes fell on the burn scars, now visible in its entirety: It spread from her neck, down her shoulder and upper arm, all the way down to the middle of her back. The rough skin stood in contrast to her otherwise fair skin. And under that skin was a layer of well-shaped muscles. They seemed to tense and harden in a truly hypnotic pattern as she danced around the punching bag, a sheen of sweat forming over her skin.

Waverly had been carried by her, and felt just how strong she was, but seeing her physique in all its glory was an entirely different thing.

A sharp pain shot up her ankle as she stumbled in the shoes that were too big for her. She yelped as she fell on the treadmill and was sent off it. It didn’t hurt, luckily her pace was still slow. But it was incredibly embarrassing. 

Nicole was at her side in a few short steps, sweat running down her forehead and chest.

«Are you okay?» She asked as she crouched down next to Waverly, panting from the workout.

Waverly nodded and did her best not to stare at the toned muscles of Nicole’s stomach, or the beads of sweat that ran down her chest, disappearing between - _Nope._

«Yep. Just these darn shoes.» Waverly reached down and rubbed her ankle. The pain was subsiding quickly, so she doubted there was any permanent injury.

«Here» Nicole stood back up and reached out her hand to help Waverly up. Waverly grabbed it and pulled herself up as fast as she could, breaking off the contact as soon as she was on her feet.

«How does it feel?» Nicole asked as she looked down at Waverly’s ankle, her head tilting a bit. «Any pain?»

Waverly put some weight on it and answered honestly, albeit if a bit quickly and very high-pitched: «Yeah, no, it is good. Stings a bit, but I’m fine.»

«Okay good. But I think we’re done with the treadmill until we can get you better shoes.» She said with a smile.

«Agreed» Waverly laughed nervously.

Nicole walked back over to the bench and picked up her shirt. «I’m almost done, is it okay if I finish the set?» She asked as she used the shirt to wipe away some of the sweat on her forehead, back of her neck, chest- _Nope!_

«Sure, sure, sure thing.» Waverly blurted out, her voice now in a high pitch.

Nicole smiled, threw the shirt back on the bench and returned to punching. Not knowing what to do, Waverly just walked over and sat down on the bench. It would be weirder if she just stood around while she waited for Nicole to finish her work out.

Waverly did her best, she really did, but the movements and rhythmic beating of her punches drew her gaze again and again. She moved with precision and skill, the layer of sweat that had been wiped away slowly started coating her again, making her muscles shine under the bright lights. Why did the pirate have to be kind, have dimples and be absolutely shredded?

She groaned internally. This entire situation was stressful and confusing enough, and then Nicole suggest they go to the goddamned gym and now Waverly couldn’t stop stealing glances of the sweaty, toned muscles of Nicole.

Nicole Haught who had broken into her room, tied her up and kidnapped her, driving off into the night with her in a stolen boat. Nicole Haught who had warm brown eyes and dimples and bright red hair and who was steady and kind. And right now Nicole was making her feel… _something._

And then somewhere on this ship was Wynonna. Her big sister who had abandoned her and then kidnapped her and brought her aboard this cursed ship. Even thinking about talking to her filled Waverly with anger. When Wynonna had first left, Waverly wouldn’t stop crying. She was, for the first time, truly alone in the world. But over the years that pain had turned to resentment, and now that resentment had turned to anger. Waverly didn’t like feeling angry. She never had.

Waverly stood up so abruptly that it stopped Nicole mid-punch, her warm brown eyes meeting Waverly’s with concern clear in them.

Wynonna made her feel angry and Nicole made her feel something. And Waverly decided she dealt better with anger than she did with… _something_ , whatever that something was. Waverly raced out of the gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, they were roommates.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Wynonna finally talk. A big part of Nicole's past is revealed. It's all very dramatic really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep writing new chapters, and since I'm still ahead of the curve, I don't see any reason to not post another chapter because I hate waiting and I assume everyone else does too. So here you go. 
> 
> Thank you to all who's read and liked it so far! I hope you continue to enjoy it.

* * *

She heard Nicole rush out after her. «Waverly!»

Waverly ignored her, she didn’t need to deal with the redhead until they had reached the next deck. Getting out of the cargo holds was easy, from there it became more difficult to navigate on her own.

She heard Nicole bump into the wall, but resisted the urge to turn around and check if she was okay.

«Waverly, wait!» Nicole caught up to her and gently grabbed her arm. «What are you doing?»

Waverly folded her arms and turned to face the redhead. Nicole had managed to clasp on her belt, but she was still holding her t-shirt in her free hand.

«I want to talk to Wynonna.» Waverly fastened her eyes on Nicole’s, she did not want to glance down and see the dark belt that was probably handing loosely around Nicole’s hips framing her abs and- _NOPE!_

«Now.» Waverly demanded.

Nicole held up her hands. «Okay, okay, gimme a sec.» She quickly put on her T-shirt and motioned for Waverly to follow her. As they walked Nicole unclasped the communicator from her belt.

«Wynonna?»

A quick scratch from the communicator later, Wynonna’s voice barked over the radio: «Yeah?»

Nicole stopped in front of the ladder leading up to the next deck to talk into the communicator. «What’s your location?»

With practised steps, Nicole scrambled up the ladder and reached out her hand for Waverly to grab as she too climbed the stairs.

«I am watching Doc polish his gun.»

Waverly could hear the grin on Wynonna’s face. She grabbed Nicole’s outstretched hand and climbed out on the same deck.

Nicole rolled her eyes. «Right, how about you meet us topside? Your sister wants to talk.»

Nicole opened the bulkhead that lead to the topside deck of the ship with a quick spin of the wheel. The heat outside was punishing and Waverly had to squint against the bright sunlight. Nicole pushed the heavy steel door open and stepped outside. Waverly followed her out on the deck. The outside of the ship was painted a matt grey, but the lines were sleek.

Wynonna stood in the shade of one of the two massive deck canons, a bottle of whisky in her hand. She looked nervous.

Nicole stepped aside, motioning towards Wynonna. «You go ahead, I’ll wait back here.» She pointed behind her where the main structure of the ship cast a cool shade. Waverly only nodded and walked towards Wynonna.

It wasn’t a long walk, but after having had Nicole follow her everywhere since her arrival, it felt a bit strange walking alone. The seas had calmed down and the waves were rolling lazily around them, barely moving the ship. Purgatory was driving at a comfortable speed, enough for the wind to flutter her hair, but not fast enough to be uncomfortable.

Wynonna gave her a small smile as she stepped further into the shadow of the canons and sat down. Waverly followed suit. The only thing for miles around them was ocean, clear deep blue ocean.

Wynonna took a swing of the whisky and held out the bottle for Waverly. Even though whisky was definitively not her drink, she accepted the bottle and drank deeply. She grimaced as she handed it back. Wynonna chuckled at that. They sat for a moment in silence, Wynonna fiddling nervously with the bottle and Waverly with her arms wrapped around her knees.

«Why did you leave?» Waverly finally began, her voice quiet.

The rage she had felt towards Wynonna had slowly ebbed out on her walk over here, now only replaced with fear. Part of her didn’t want to know the answer to why her sister had abandoned her. She remembered the hurt she had felt when she had left, and what if the answer to why would hurt her even more?

Wynonna took another swig of the bottle. «It was for the best. I never fit in, you know that. But you, you hardly remembered before, so you had a chance.»

«What do you mean before? On the homestead?»

Wynonna glanced at her before fixing her gaze back on the horizon. «No, not the homestead.» Her jaw clenched and Waverly knew that the memories of that night flashed briefly before her eyes. Wynonna always got that expression when the homestead was mentioned. The night that she had… Wynonna drew a quick breath. «Before the homestead. We lived out here» She gestured around them at the open sea. «All of us; mama, daddy, you and me… And Willa»

Waverly’s head shot up. «What?»

Wynonna nodded as she took another swig. «All three of us were born out at sea. But with three small girls daddy decided that a pirate’s life was not for me. So we settled down on the East coast. Mama lasted about two years before she left. And then…» Wynonna shrugged. «So you and I were sent to Gus.»

«Why didn’t you tell me? In all those years? Why didn’t you tell me?» Waverly could hear the shaking in her own voice and tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

Wynonna looked at her with a sad smile. «We weren’t born inside the Alliance. Daddy managed to get us some fake papers, but they could only hold up to so much scrutiny. You were so little, bab-… Waves. We were scared that you would talk about the ships and the floating cities. So we just didn’t talk about it. It didn’t take long for you to forget. You forgot ever being on a ship and you had no trouble settling in with the Alliance.» Wynonna took another long swig and used the back of her hand to wipe her mouth. «But I could never conform, the Alliance was too strict, built on propaganda and lies. So I left.»

Waverly scoffed. «The Alliance is the only reason we aren’t starving and living in poverty. They provide safety and security.»

Wynonna laughed dryly. «Yeah, that’s what you’ve been told. I know you’re not blind, Waves. Be honest with yourself, do we really fit the image that the Alliance has painted of pirates?»

Waverly’s mouth slammed shut. Wynonna was right. They were nothing like them. They were friendly and kind and had dimples.

«No» She admitted quietly.

«And think about it» Wynonna continued carefully. «They provide minimal education, enough for you to read and write and do some maths, but then you’re thrown into the mill. A fifteen year old should not be working from dusk till dawn. They should be learning and exploring and making out. And what do you get in return? Electricity to watch whatever bullshit they put in the news and whatever propaganda they spew at you and just enough food to sustain you. Never completely full but not starving either?»

«But the world outside is filled with starvation and wars. The Alliance protects us from that, the Alliance is the only thing stopping us from descending into barbarism again.» Even as she was saying it she felt that seed of doubt that had been growing in the back of her mind since her first tour around Purgatory grow bigger and bigger.

«That is such bullshit» Wynonna said forcefully. «Life outside the Alliance is hard as shit and fucking dangerous, but the picture the Alliance paints of the rest of the world is pure bullshit. And they’re not the saviours they make themselves out to be.»

Waverly shook her head. She didn’t know what to believe. The pirates here were nothing like pirates, but they were still pirates, weren’t they? Her entire world couldn’t be a lie. But what did Wynonna have to gain from this? Waverly held no value, she didn’t work anywhere special, she couldn’t give Wynonna anything vital about the Alliance. Waverly covered her face with her hands.

«The Alliance might’ve started out good but now they are basically suppressing everyone because they don’t want to lose their slave labour.»

«Its not slave labour» Waverly muttered.

«Might as well be.» Wynonna said dryly. «How many hours a day did you work on that cruise ship? Twelve? Thirteen? How much did you get paid when your tour was over? They’ve sculpted a world around you where you believe that this is just the way the world has to work and they are doing you a favour by letting you slave for them.»

Waverly covered her eyes and shook her head, Wynonna didn’t notice her rising panic and continued:

«And anyone who resists, anyone with enough sense to demand _more_ is called an insurgent or criminal and thrown into labour camps. And if you try to leave Alliance territory in search of work that will be fair, hell then they mark you as a traitor or a pirate.»

Waverly shot up, almost bumping her head against the canon. «Stop!» She shouted.

«Baby girl, I’m just trying to tell you the truth.» Wynonna shouted back.

«How can I trust anything you say?»

«Because I’m your sister, and I would never hurt you.»

Waverly laughed, a cutting mean laugh, one she had never before thought herself capable of. «You left me. You lied to me my entire life and you left me. Hurting me doesn’t even begin to cover it.»

Wynonna stood up herself, the anger in her eyes rising up to meet Waverly’s. «I did what I thought was best. It was a fucked up situation. Everything I have done has been to keep you safe.»

«Safe?!» Waverly shrieked. «How is this safe, Wynonna?»

«You’re safer here with me than out on the ocean alone»

«I would rather be anywhere than here with you!»

Wynonna started saying something but was cut of by Nicole darting around the corner:

«Hey, hey! How about we take a break?»

«Butt out, deputy dip-shit, this is between us.» Wynonna barked.

Waverly turned away from her sister and faced Nicole. «I want to go.»

Nicole only nodded and stepped aside to let Waverly pass her.

«No, Waverly, you need to listen.» Wynonna started after her, but Nicole stepped into her path.

«Wynonna, stop.» Her voice was calm and steady, but demanding.

«Fuck you» Wynonna snarled.

«Wynonna» Nicole barked back. «Give her some space.»

Waverly had moved out of hearing range, but when she glanced over her shoulder she saw Wynonna kick the ground then nod reluctantly. Nicole reached out and squeezed Wynonna’s shoulder, which her sister responded to with a middle finger. The redhead turned and jogged to catch up with Waverly.

They hadn’t spoken the entire walk back. Nicole had just instinctively led Waverly back to her room. When the door had opened Waverly had just stepped inside and curled up on the bed, her knees pressed to her chest and arms wrapped around them. She was not going to cry.

Nicole had picked up her book and sat down in the chair again, her back to Waverly, giving her as much privacy as she could. Waverly was lost in her own head.

She couldn’t decide on what was the worst scenario: That everyone on this entire ship were liars, and this was some grotesque charade put on by Wynonna for whatever reason. Or everything she had been told about her own life had been a lie, the entirety of the Alliance had been a lie and the world was nothing like she could ever imagine.

She couldn’t quite wrap her head around the first one, and the second one was too much for her to deal with; too all-consuming and scary. And in both scenarios Wynonna was a liar.

Waverly buried her head in her arms and tried not to cry as her own mind constructed and deconstructed her entire life and all her beliefs.

Nicole had remained quiet with the exception of using the communicator to ask Shorty to deliver their dinner. It didn’t take long for the food to be delivered. Nicole sat the tray down on the bed in front of Waverly without saying anything, and sat down at the table to eat while she read.

Waverly didn’t touch the food, she felt empty and sad and confused, but not hungry. Nicole glanced over her shoulder when she had finished her own meal and gently put the book down.

«Waverly» she began softly. «I know you don’t want to right now, but you should try eating. Just a little bit.»

«Why are you doing this?» Waverly snapped. Some part of her knew she was being unfair. Nicole didn’t deserve to feel the brunt of her wrath, but she didn’t care.

Nicole frowned. «What do you-»

«Why are you being so nice?» Waverly barked. «You shouldn’t be.»

Nicole took a deep breath and slowly stood up. She made her way over to the bed and gingerly sat down on the edge, leaving as much room as she could between herself and Waverly. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.

«Because I know how you feel.» She said quietly.

Waverly scoffed. «How could you possibly know how I feel?»

Nicole didn’t look at her, but leaned forward, her long limbs able to reach across the room to her dresser. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out the frame she had put in there yesterday before Turbo.

The frame was thick, not holding a picture, but an item. Nicole sat back on the edge, looking at the item in the frame before she held it out for Waverly to see.

The small metal shield had clearly been damaged and warped by fire, but Waverly had seen that emblem enough times to immediately recognise the badge of the Oceanic Deputies. Though the metal was warped the name ‘ **HAUGHT** ’ was still eligible on the lower part of the shield.

«I know because I was you.»


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Attention Returning readers!: I went back through the story and increased the amount of time since Wynonna left to seven years. As I've been writing I realised I wanted her to have been outside the Alliance for a longer time than five years. Thank you for you attention.
> 
> This is a long chapter, guys. I didn't really find a good place to cut it without making both chapters too short, so I just decided to keep it that way. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

* * *

They hadn’t talked anymore that night. It had been too much. Too much information, too much confusion and too many conflicting feelings. Luckily Nicole had caught on to that and let her be the rest of the night. Waverly had eaten, just a bit.

Nicole had woken Waverly the next morning and they went down to the Galley together. Waverly didn’t greet anyone or talk, and those who tried to engage in conversation were met with a sharp look from Nicole and a quick shake of her head.

They returned to the room and Nicole picked up her book to continue reading, leaving Waverly to fight with her own mind curled up on the bed. A few hours passed before there was quick knock on the door. Nicole opened the door to find Wynonna outside, arms crossed, shifting her weight from side to side.

«The sub is being prepared now. Has she written a list?» Wynonna tried to peek in the door, but Nicole stepped outside into the hallway and held the door almost shut.

«Not yet. I’ll ask her if she wants to and get it to you before we get on the sub.»

«‘kay» Wynonna muttered and shuffled down the hallway.

Nicole stepped back inside the room and closed the door behind her. She went over the dresser and opened one of the bottom drawers.

«Are we going on a submarine?» Waverly’s voice cracked, hoarse from not speaking for many hours.

Nicole jumped a bit at hearing Waverly’s voice, but when she turned to look at Waverly, a slightly awkward smile was painted on her lips.

«Well, yes. I-uh…» She rubbed her neck awkwardly. «I was trying to figure out when to tell you, but you seemed… Preoccupied, so… But yes, we are going on a sub.»

Waverly frowned. «Why?»

Nicole grabbed a notebook and two pens from the drawer and stood up, using her foot to close it.

«Docking is always when we’re most vulnerable. If anyone attacks the ship while most of the crew is on land, you know» She leaned back against the drawer and shrugged. «So we’re hanging back in the sub while they make landfall.»

«And you can’t risk me running away first chance I get.» Waverly said matter of factly.

Nicole chuckled. «No, we can’t risk that. But it’s mostly to keep you safe. Wynonna is probably overly careful, but I agree with the ‘better to be safe than sorry’»

Waverly averted her gaze and just shrugged. Yesterday she might have protested more, but she was so tired.

Nicole opened the notebook and ripped out a page, which she placed on the bed alongside a pencil. «Wynonna asked you to write down your sizes and if there was anything in particular you wanted.»

Waverly just stared at the paper then up at Nicole.

Nicole rubbed her neck again. «Listen, I know you’re mad at her. But wouldn’t it be much easier to have your own stuff? You could leave her to guess, but that has never really been her strong suit. And you can take comfort in the fact that this is paid for out of her pocket, so» Nicole shrugged innocently. «Pay back?»

For the first time since her conversation with Wynonna, Waverly felt a small smile spread over her lips.

Dolls and Wynonna waited for them in the docking bay. The sub had been released from the rail and was secured to the dock inside the bay. It was much smaller than Waverly had expected it to be, couldn’t be more than 10-15 feet. Nicole handed Wynonna two lists; one from Waverly and one from herself.

Dolls pulled Nicole aside, talking in a hushed voice, pointing at a map that had been laid out on the counter. Waverly bit her lower lip and tried not to look at Wynonna who acted just as awkwardly.

«It’s gonna be okay» Wynonna said, digging the heel of her booth into non-existent dirt. «I know the sub can be a bit scary at first, but its good. Haught knows what she’s doing.»

«I know» Waverly wrapped her arms around herself.

«Have you brought anything? A book or something? It’ll be a few hours.»

«Wynonna»

«Yep, yep, shutting up now.» Wynonna backed off and wandered over to Nicole who was looking over the map with Dolls. When they all seemed to agree on the where, when and ifs, Dolls turned, nodded his head once at Waverly and left the room. Nicole packed the map up and put it in her bag.

Wynonna fell in step next to Nicole as she made her way towards the sub. Waverly trailed a few steps behind them.

«Be careful, okay?» Wynonna murmured.

«Always am.» Nicole answered in a normal voice.

«Do you know-»

«Yep»

«And if the-»

«Yup»

«And if we-»

«Wynonna» Nicole stopped and turned to face her. «We are going to be fine. I’ve got this.»

«Thanks» She muttered and gave Nicole’s shoulder a friendly punch, then she quickly wrapped Nicole in a quick, harsh hug. It lasted half a second before Wynonna pushed Nicole away. «Bye»

Nicole shook her head and started climbing up the ladder to the bulkhead that lead into the sub.

«Bye, Wynonna» she said in her singsong voice.

Waverly glanced up at her as she passed her sister. Wynonna offered her a reassuring smile and a small wave. Waverly didn’t return it.

Nicole helped her climb into the cockpit. Once in school, Waverly had been shown pictures of the space crafts that once had brought humanity to space. The cockpit of the sub reminded her of that.

Waverly saw that Nicole had shoved the bag behind the seats. Glancing at the small storage space behind the seats she saw a few plastic boxes, she assumed they contained food and water.

She was thankful that Nicole had reminded her to pee before they left. It would be a few hours until they had access to any toilets. Waverly wriggled into the seat and slowly looked around the cockpit. There were buttons and levers and screens on every surface. Nicole stood up as much as she could, muttering «Sorry» as she had to lean into Waverly’s space to close and secure the bulkhead.

The redhead slid back down in her seat and started pushing buttons and pulling levers. Waverly looked out the window to see Wynonna still standing there. When her big sister saw her she waved again. Waverly averted her gaze.

Nicole pressed a button and the submarine jerked slightly as the engine started. Nicole brought the radio to her lips.

«Sub to Purgatory.»

«Purgatory copies.» Dolls’ voice came over the speakers.

Nicole pressed a few more buttons as she continued speaking. «Engines engaged. Bird is about the leave the nest.»

«Copy that.»

Nicole put the radio away and grabbed the controls. The sub jerked again and started turning out of the open portside bay door. Purgatory had come to a full stop to drop the payload, as Nicole had called it. The sub drove out into the ocean and when Purgatory was far enough away Nicole grabbed the radio again.

«Sub to Purgatory. We’re clear.»

«Copy that sub. Happy diving.»

Nicole smiled a bit. «Enjoy landfall. Sub out.»

Nicole placed the radio back in its place and started preparing the sub for submersion. Waverly felt the gnawing pit in her stomach grow larger and larger as Purgatory picked up speed and sailed further and further away.

«Dive commencing.» Nicole said, almost automatically.

Waverly didn’t respond. As the sub started diving and Purgatory faded from view the pit in her stomach turned into a burning. The ocean had swallowed them, and Nicole kept taking the sub deeper, and the underwater ripples of Purgatory’s wake was disappearing from view.

«You okay?» Nicole asked as she squinted at one of the screens.

«Mhm» Waverly lied.

The air felt stale, the space around them too small. Waverly could no longer see any sign of the Purgatory. Her heart started racing and she felt like she couldn’t get enough air. Instinctively she started heaving, trying desperately to get enough air.

«Waverly?» Nicole’s hand was on her shoulder.

«I can’t do this.» Waverly panted. «I can’t breathe.»

Nicole’s hand was steady on her shoulder. «I know it is scary, Waverly, but we’re gonna be fine, I promise.»

The tears that Waverly had held in for days now started streaming down her face. She was in an air tight bucket, in the middle of the ocean and Wynonna was leaving her behind. Again.

«I have to get out.» Waverly wrapped her arms around herself as her entire body shook. She kept shaking her head and gasping for air, repeating that sentence again and again.

Nicole cupped Waverly’s cheek and turned her so they sat face to face. «Waverly. Waverly!»

Waverly stopped chanting and tried her best to focus on Nicole.

«I will take us back up for a little while, but you need to remain calm. If you press the wrong button or accidentally knock into the wrong thing it could be fatal. Do you understand?»

Waverly just nodded. Nicole gave her a reassuring smile and Waverly could swear that Nicole had wiped a tear from her cheek before she let go.

Nicole explained in detail what she was doing, which button did what and what to expect during every phase of their resurfacing. Waverly didn’t understand any of it, but Nicole talking to her helped a bit.

Finally they resurfaced and sunlight filled the submarine again. Nicole quickly opened the bulkhead and Waverly dove out of her seat and pulled herself up. The heat from the sun burned into her shoulders and the wind tore at her hair, but there in the distance she could see Purgatory. It had picked up speed and was rapidly growing smaller and smaller.

Waverly hung with her upper body out the bulkhead and her legs dangling inside the cockpit. She pressed her forehead against the cold steel of the sub and just let herself cry.

«Waverly?»

The tears had stopped forcing themselves out and were just occasionally escaping. She had stopped actively shaking too.

«Hmm?» Her voice was still thick from crying.

«I really wish I could give you more time, but we have to dive again. As long as we’re on the surface we’ll be visible on the radar.» Nicole sounded apologetic.

Waverly took a deep breath, wiped her tears and slid back down in her seat, embarrassment now burning on her face. Nicole just reached up and secured the bulkhead again, then started the sequence to bring them back down again. She halted, her hand hovering over the last lever that needed to be pulled.

«Ready?»

Waverly just nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. Nicole pulled the lever, grabbed the controls and they dove beneath the surface again. Luckily, Waverly managed to keep her panic at bay.

Nicole glanced over as she finished the dive and pressed a few buttons. The submarine settled, floating weightlessly in the deep. The hum of the engine became a low steady rumble. The only light in the cockpit was the soft lights from the instruments on the dashboard and even that was just enough so that the pilot could see what they were doing. By design the submarine was not meant to give off more light or sound than absolutely necessary.

«They’re gonna come back.» Nicole offered quietly.

Waverly shrugged.

Nicole settled back in her chair, keeping a close eye on the instruments and the screens on the dashboard.

Waverly chewed on her lower lip. They were going to be locked in here for hours. Not asking questions about what Nicole had revealed about her started to feel as awkward as the thought of actually asking her about it. And perhaps, if Nicole told her story, Waverly could either find some inconsistency that proved that Wynonna was just a liar or enough truth in her words to settle her mind.

«How did you end up here? On the Purgatory I mean?»

Nicole chuckled. «Straight to the point there, huh?»

«Sorry, that was too much.» Waverly ran her hand through her hair. «We don’t need to talk about it.»

«I’m just teasing, Waverly.» Nicole reached behind them and got two bottles of water, one of which she handed to Waverly. «I don’t mind talking about it.»

Waverly shifted as best she could to face Nicole in the small space of the cockpit, the bottle resting in her lap. Nicole took a sip from her bottle, then placed it on top of the dashboard and took a deep breath.

«I grew up in New Miami. I must have done well on some kind of test because I was recruited into the Deputies early.»

«How old were you?» Waverly asked quietly.

Nicole scrounged up her face as she tried to remember. «I think I was 13? Maybe 14? They get their recruits early. Easier to shape a young mind. So I did my part. Worked hard, trained, studied. Then became a part of the force and set out to sea.»

Nicole started fiddling with the hem of her jacket.

«When I first set out I really believed in what we were doing. That the Deputies was doing what was best for the Alliance. We were doing something _good._ But slowly, over time, there was this voice in the back of my head just telling me that this was wrong. We were firing at ships without warning because the captain and officers _thought_ they were pirates. We arrested Alliance citizens that tried to leave. Drove people from places outside the Alliance from our waters, shooting them out of the water if they didn’t leave.»

Nicole’s eyes were glazing over. She shook her head a bit and took a deep, steadying breath.

«Then one day, we came across this… well, wreck really. There was a family aboard, children. We made contact with them over the radio and they… One of their kids, their little boy, he was sick. They weren’t even trying to get into alliance territory, their boat had malfunctioned and they had drifted. They just needed medicine and help getting back home»

Nicole’s hand curled into a fists, she just stared at it for a moment before she opened her hand again, resuming running her nails over the hem of her jacket.

«They told them to move out of Alliance water immediately or the ship would open fire. Which of course they couldn’t because their boat wasn’t working. I tried arguing for sending a small team over, but the officers of course thought this was some kind of trap set by pirates. Pretend to have a malfunctioning boat and then lure in other ships. But I just knew, I knew that was not the truth. I even offered to go alone, but my commander refused. But I grabbed a med kit and my tools, took a seacraft and headed over there anyway. I just needed an hour, maybe two. Then I could have given them the medicine and fixed the engine, and then the family could be on their way. I thought; they won’t fire on a fellow officer. That I could use myself as a shield to just solve this situation without violence. But they»

She clenched her jaw, the muscles straining.

«I had just reached the boat and climbed up on the stern when they fired.»

Waverly covered her mouth with her hand, inhaling sharply. «They fired on children?»

Nicole just nodded, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she fought to maintain her composure. Waverly reached out and placed her other hand on Nicole’s arm. The redhead just looked at the hand, then turned her head away.

«Is that how you got the..?» Waverly motioned towards the burn scars on Nicole’s shoulder.

Nicole nodded.

«Purgatory picked up the explosion on sonar. They weren’t far behind. I was the only survivor.» After another deep breath, Nicole continued. «Wynonna fished me out of the water and they nursed me back to health. Of course they had to keep me in the brig. Many of them wanted to just throw me over board, or ransom me for money. But Wy-… but someone insisted that I could be turned into a valuable member of the crew.»

Nicole let out a dry laugh.

«It was hell. Unlearning all the…» She gestured vaguely around her own head. «Programming. But finally they trusted me enough to let me help out around the ship, and I enjoy working on Purgatory and for BBD more than I ever enjoyed being a Deputy so you know. That’s my sob story.»

Waverly pulled her arm back slowly, as she worried her lower lip. «What’s BBD?»

«Bermuda Border Division, or at least that’s what it started as. The Alliance has always tested the boundaries, and actual pirates are always looking for easy targets. No one was protecting the smaller states in the South Americas. So the people of those states banded together what they could and formed BBD. Over the years more people from outside the South Americas joined, and BBD forged an alliance with the floating cities that had been driven from the northern hemisphere.»

«So you’re not pirates?» Waverly asked quietly.

Nicole grimaced. «Not the kind of pirates that the Alliance wants to paint us as. We’re mostly a defence force. We try to only fire when fired upon, and especially Purgatory is more focused on commandeering a ship with as few casualties as possible, in the best cases we manage no casualties. But we don’t actively hunt down targets for raiding. We will take out pirates and agents that are actively raiding and causing damage in our areas, but no. I wouldn’t say we’re pirates. We might not be the ‘ _good guys_ ’ but we’re better than the Alliance that’s for sure.»

«It’s just so much.» Waverly said and rubbed her forehead. «I don’t know what to believe anymore. And Wynonna is just being such a… she’s being such a-»

«Wynonna?»

«Yes!»

Nicole laughed at that. «She is a handful, that’s for sure. But she cares so much, under all the bravado and foul language.»

«I know.» Waverly looked away and felt another tear run down her cheek. «I am just so mad at her.»

Nicole gave her a look of deep understanding. «And you have every right to be.» Nicole leaned slightly towards her. «Waverly, only you can decide when and if you’re ready to forgive.» Nicole’s lips curled into a soft smile. «I don’t want to sit here and preach right and wrong to you. I will answer any question you have as honestly as I can, but I know for experience that actions speak louder than words. So I hope we can show you that we’re not the monsters the Alliance wants you to believe.»

They had fallen into a relatively comfortable silence. Or Nicole looked comfortable and Waverly was doing her best to hide that silence was not her forte. Nicole spent her time reading and occasionally checking the interments and screens in the dashboard. Waverly had napped for a bit, tried and failed to read, then just passed the time by staring out into the deep blue abyss around them.

They had shared both lunch and dinner, passing the plastic containers between them. Nicole told her stories about Calamity Jane as they ate. Nicole found her during her first landfall. She had been the only survivor from a litter that had been abandoned. Nicole had snuck her onboard, Nedley had helped her hide the kitten. When Dolls had found out Nicole had been terrified that he would throw both her and the cat overboard. But Dolls had just smiled and told them how having cats aboard as ship was like a good luck charm. One of Calamity Jane’s favourite spots is in Dolls’ lap when he’s sitting in the Pilot’s chair or on the Dashboard on the bridge.

After dinner they had fallen back into that comfortable silence. Waverly had almost fallen asleep when the radio suddenly sparked to life.

Dolls’ voice boomed through the small cockpit of the sub. His tone was deadly serious.

«Purgatory to Sub, come in.»

Nicole threw the book back into the bag without marking the page and grabbed the radio.

«Sub responding.»

«Resurface immediately and head to these coordinates.» Dolls started citing the coordinates. Nicole quickly plotted them into the sub’s computers.

«Copy.»

Nicole worked quickly and the sub jerked forward and headed sharply towards the surface.

«What is going on?»

Nicole’s expression was somber. «Nothing good»

The sub surfaced and Nicole set the thrusters to full. The sun was setting, the rays of light danced over waves, and though it was a soft light it was searingly bright compared to the darkness they had spent most of the day in. Waverly stretched her neck to glimpse out of the side windows. Purgatory was in the process of slowing down, and Waverly could see that the docking bay door was already open and waiting for them.

«Purgatory to sub. Intercept speed, five knots.»

Nicole grabbed the radio. «Intercept speed, five knots, copy.»

The gap between the sub and Purgatory narrowed rapidly. Nicole kept steering while pushing buttons and checking her course.

Purgatory loomed over them as Nicole aligned the sub with the ship, aiming for the open bay door. When they had left Purgatory the ship had been at a stand still. Now Nicole was aiming up to dock with Purgatory as it was moving. Waverly closed her eyes and held her breath as Nicole made the final adjustments and they headed into the shadow of the ship.

There was no crash or a bang. After a breathless moment, Waverly heard the sound of the bay door closing and the sub gently tapping against the dock. She opened her eyes and found Nicole rapidly pressing a few more buttons before she opened the bulkhead. She scrambled out and all but dragged Waverly out of her seat.

The robotic claw arm was already moving to pick the sub up and place it back on its tracks above their heads. Nicole jumped down onto the dock and helped Waverly do the same. Wordlessly, Nicole led the way through the ship.

They entered the bridge to find it in full uproar. Dolls was calling out orders and his officers responded in kind. Waverly leaned against the back wall as Nicole rushed over to Wynonna who had a radio in one hand while she stared intently at the screens on her dashboard.

«What’ve we got?» Nicole asked, her own gaze running over the dashboard taking in the information.

«Revenants» Wynonna responded grimly.

«Fuck» Nicole spun around. Her eyes fell on Waverly. «Stay here.»

Then she ran out of the room again. Waverly hugged her arms tightly around herself and did her best to stay out of the way.

«Full speed ahead, Nedley.» Dolls called out.

«Full speed ahead.» Nedley confirmed and pushed the throttle forward.

Purgatory jumped into action and gained speed quickly.

«Dolls» Wynonna called out. «Another ship has joined the fray. Coming from the Northwest.»

«How many are in pursuit?»

«Three»

Dolls grabbed the mic to the intercom. «Attention all crew, this is the captain speaking. All crew to general quarters. I repeat all crew to general quarters.» He pushed a button. «Bridge to CIC.»

Doc’s voice responded. «CIC responding»

The door to the bridge slammed open and various crew members rushed in. One ran over to the navigation table, one ran to stand next to Nedley.

«Status?» Dolls asked.

«Weapons hot»

Dolls glanced over towards Wynonna. «I need you down there.»

Wynonna glanced over her shoulder at Waverly. Dolls followed her line of sight.

«I’ll keep her safe.»

Wynonna nodded, grabbed her jacket and dashed out of the bridge. Waverly swallowed the lump in her throat.

Dolls turned to the man standing behind Nedley. «Prep helm for Turbo.»

«Aye, aye»

«Waverly» He barked.

Waverly jumped.

Dolls pointed to Wynonna’s chair. «Sit.»

Waverly darted across the bridge and jumped into Wynonna’s chair. She had no idea what any of the instruments did, but she did recognise the radar. Three dots trailed behind them as the Radar lazily did its turns on the screen. One of the dots was massive, the two other were smaller and they were catching up fast. 

«CO to Engine»

«Engine Copies»

«Prepare for Turbo.»

«Copy. Preparing for turbo. Should take 10 minutes.»

«I need you to do it faster.»

«We can get it done in 8, but it might blow the-»

«Get it done.»

Dolls’ eyes darted from the horizon to the instruments on the dashboard.

The intercom scratched again. «Did anyone else hear a thud?» Jeremy tried to keep his voice light, but did a poor job of it.

«What do you mean thud?» Dolls barked into the radio.

«I swear I heard a thud-»

The entire bridge shook and flames curled over the thick glass. Waverly was knocked back in her chair. Somewhere behind her she heard someone lose their footing. Several alarms started screaming at the same time.

Dolls shouted into the radio as he leaned towards the window and looked down on the ship’s deck below.

«We’ve been boarded. I repeat enemy has boarded. Four - no five enemy combatants on starboard side.»

Waverly felt her heart skip a beat when she heard Nicole’s voice answering. «On it»

Then her heart skipped another beat as Wynonna chimed in as well; her voice laced with confidence.

«Not if I get there first.»

Waverly stood up from the chair and tried to look down at the deck. Four darkly clad people was rapidly spreading out over the deck. The fifth was kneeling on the deck, reloading an RPG.

First a single gunshot was heard and one of the four that were spreading out across the deck fell. Waverly could just glimpse Wynonna who jumped behind cover as bullets started raining down on her.

She was alone against three people with machine guns and an RPG, while all she had was that dumb revolver.

«Earp!» Dolls shouted into the radio, but both he and Waverly knew it was too late for Wynonna to retreat.

A second enemy combatant fell and Waverly’s gaze was drawn to the port side of the ship. Moving into cover in a crouched run she saw Nicole; clad in combat gear, holding an assault rifle.

The bullets switched direction towards Nicole, giving Wynonna the opportunity to shoot a third intruder.

The RPG-wielder had finished loading the rocket and was aiming towards the bridge. Wynonna charged from behind her cover, running full speed at him. Nicole tried to draw the fire from the last of the shooters by moving from cover to cover.

Wynonna kicked the RPG right as it was about to shoot, the force of the kick was enough to knock the intruder of balance and the rocket went wide, exploding somewhere far behind them.

Wynonna didn’t waste time as she threw herself at the man. They traded blows and wrestled furiously. Wynonna managed to ram him against the railing, both of them careening dangerously over the edge.

The intercom sparked back into life as Doc shouted: «Vampire! Vampire! Vampire!»

Waverly had no idea what that meant but she was just going to assume that it was bad. Really bad. This whole situation was bad.

Nicole dropped her opponent with a well placed shot and immediately began moving towards Wynonna. She tried to line up a shot, but the two were too intertwined.

Doc’s voice reached her ears again. «Sparrows flopped. Engaging sea-wiz»

The smaller gun turrets on the deck jumped to life and started furiously firing into the water, trailing something that Waverly could not yet see.

A massive shockwave sent her sprawling against the dashboard to her left as the ship’s defences dealt with the incoming torpedo. Though it hadn’t hit the ship, the detonation was close enough to tilt the ship, the metal screeching under the strain.

Waverly pulled herself up in time to see both Wynonna and the last intruder tumble overboard.

«Wynonna!» Waverly screamed and pounded her fists against the glass.

Nicole had lost her footing and slid across the deck. She got to her feet and crashed into the railing, her eyes searching furiously for Wynonna.

«Man overboard» Nicole’s voice boomed over the alarms.

«Don’t!» Dolls shouted at Nedley who was already reaching for the throttle to slow down. «If we slow down we’re as good as dead.» He brought the radio to his lips. «Haught, do you have visual?»

Nicole was already running back towards the ship’s structure. «No, but I’m getting a signal from her communicator.»

«Is she alive?»

There was a second’s pause as Nicole disappeared from view. «I don’t know.»

Waverly sobbed loudly.

Nicole spoke up again, the sound of a bulkhead being shut could be heard in the background. «Dolls, I can get her.»

Dolls pressed a button on the radio. «Engine, how long till Turbo can be engaged?»

«Six minutes»

The muscles in Dolls’ jaw flexed. Then he pushed another button on his radio. «Haught, you have five minutes.»

«Copy»

«What is happening?» Waverly sobbed. «Where is Wynonna?»

Dolls shifted his attention to her. «Waverly, I need you to strap into the seat. If you get hurt Wynonna is gonna shoot all of us when she comes back.»

Waverly desperately tried to find Wynonna, refusing to sit down.

«Earp!» Dolls said sharply. «Sit down and strap in. Haught will get Wynonna. I need you to remain calm.»

Waverly considered just running out of the bridge in search of her sister, but whatever part of her that was still capable of rational thought temporarily gained control and she followed orders. The straps in the controller’s chair weren’t as difficult and elaborate as the turtle chairs. With shaking hands and eyesight that was blurred by the tears that was streaming down her face she fastened the harness around herself. The alarm, noise and shouted commands passed Waverly by unnoticed. They became background noise as the beating of her own heart became louder and louder and louder.

What Waverly couldn’t see was Nicole shooting out of Purgatory on a seacraft. The small, fast vehicle raced across the water towards the hopeful blip of Wynonna’s communicator. Waverly couldn’t see the bullets that started to rain down around Nicole as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

Waverly couldn’t see the violent jerk and slight faulting of Nicole’s grip as she was hit by a bullet; the blood sprayed over the back of the seacraft, dripping down into the ocean. She didn’t see her gripping the bars harder and increasing her speed.

Waverly couldn’t see Nicole turning rapidly to avoid the detonation of a missile. Nor could she see Nicole slowing down, stopping and pulling something out of the water. She did not see the column of water that shot up seconds after Nicole sped out of there. She didn’t feel the seconds tick away as the seacraft tried to catch up with Purgatory.

She didn’t hear Dolls announcing that only a minute remained till Turbo. She didn’t register him leaning over to check that she was securely strapped in.

Waverly didn’t register Dolls trying to hail Nicole, but getting no reply. Nor did she register him deciding to start closing the bay doors.

Even the violent tug and deafening shrieking of Turbo didn’t register. The only thing Waverly had on her mind was the image of her sister falling over the railing and into the abyss below.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I left it on a cliffhanger last night, so Imma just put the rest of the notes at the end because I am sure you want to find out if Nicole and Wynonna made it back in time.
> 
> Enjoy.

* * *

Measuring time in turbo was an impossible task. Waverly only knew that that the sun had been setting when they entered turbo, and now that it had ended it was dark.

The first thing Dolls did was announce: «Prepare for black out» into the intercom before he unbuckled himself.

Waverly snapped out of it when she realised that both the combat and turbo was over. She unclasped the harness and darted out of her seat to follow Dolls who was already sprinting out of the bridge.

«Does anyone have confirmation that Haught made it back?» Dolls shouted into his communicator.

«I heard a crash 30 seconds before turbo.» Jeremy said, his voice shaky.

«Medic to the docking bay now.» Dolls barked as they sprinted down the hallway towards the stairs that led to the officer’s hall.

«Medic en route.» A female voice answered.

«Does anyone have visual on Haught and Earp?» There was a desperation in his voice now.

Silence.

Dolls increased his pace and by some miracle Waverly was able to keep up with him.

«Can’t you track them?» Waverly panted.

«Noncritical systems are shut down before Turbo to conserve power. It’ll take a few minutes before the system reboots.» Dolls said over his shoulder as they went down the stairs and through the hallway and down the next set of stairs. «They weren’t far behind us when the tracking system was shut down, they might’ve made it.»

Waverly bit her tongue as tears started burning in her eyes again. They had to have made it. They had to. She focused on the placement of her feet, her eyes darting between the floor and Dolls’ back as she pushed herself harder than she thought she was capable of to keep pace with the Captain as he led them deeper into the belly of the ship towards the docking bay.

Dolls threw open a hatch and jumped down onto the deck. Without thinking Waverly followed suit. Pain shot up her legs at the landing, but she ignored it and sprinted after Dolls down the hallway.

They rounded the last corner and skidded to a halt outside the closed bulkhead that lead to the docking bay. Further down the hallway, Waverly could hear people running towards them.

Dolls spun the wheel and pulled the door open. There was smoke in the room. The walls were intact, but there were large dents in the wall facing the back of the ship. A destroyed and fuming seacraft stood at an odd angle against the back-wall. Pieces of metal and plastic was scattered everywhere from where turbo had absolutely decimated the vehicle.

«Dolls!» Wynonna shouted desperately from above them.

Waverly lifted her gaze to see Wynonna atop the submarine. She was pulling an unconscious Nicole out from the sub. Dolls sprung into action and climbed the ladder leading up to the rails in seconds. Waverly covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed.

«Haught, if you die, I’ll kill you!» Wynonna growled as she pulled Nicole out of the sub.

Dolls ran over and hoisted Nicole onto his shoulders. Wynonna slid down from the sub and followed behind him as he ran back to the ladder and climbed down.

Behind Waverly the people that had followed them finally entered. A man and a woman came running in with a stretcher. They placed it on the ground, waiting for Dolls to place Nicole on it. He ran over and gently put her down. The woman crouched down and started examining her.

Wynonna ran over to Waverly. «Are you hurt?»

Waverly sobbed loudly as she pulled Wynonna in for a hug, not caring that she was still soaking wet. Wynonna froze for a second before she wrapped her arms around her little sister. Waverly’s shoulders shook violently as she sobbed into her big sister’s shoulder. Wynonna murmured into her hair before she turned towards Nicole, still holding on to Waverly. Waverly turned her head within the embrace, her eyes landing on a soaking wet, bloody and unconscious Nicole.

«Breathing normal» The woman noted. She brought out a small flashlight and shined into Nicole’s eyes. «Pupils equal and responsive. Gunshot wound in the left side, through and through, doesn’t seem to have hit any major organs, but she’s lost a lot of blood. Bleeding from the head.»

The woman, Waverly assumed she was the Doctor, motioned for Dolls and the man to pick up the stretched. «I have to get her into surgery.» 

They quickly lifted the stretcher and hurried out of the docking bay. Wynonna released Waverly from the hug, but grabbed her hand and followed them.

They rushed through the ship. The doctor held the door open for Dolls and the man who was carrying Nicole on the stretcher and they disappeared inside the sickbay.

When Wynonna was about to charge after them the doctor blocked their path.

«You have to wait outside, you know that, Earp.»

Wynonna growled, but didn’t try to follow the doctor as she went through the door and closed it behind her. Instead she started pacing back and forth in front of the door.

A minute later Dolls stepped out again.

Wynonna appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. «Is she-»

«They are taking her into surgery now.» Dolls said calmly.

«We didn’t have time. Turbo was about to start. Nicole said the sub. The idiot pushed me in first. She didn’t have time to strap in properly. I tried to hold onto her! I tried, Dolls.» Wynonna blurted out desperately.

«Wynonna» Dolls said firmly, but there was a softness to his voice as he placed his hands on her shoulders. «Breathe. Anna’s got her now.»

Wynonna took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

«Are you hurt?» Dolls asked, his eyes scanning Wynonna for any visual injuries.

«No» Wynonna shook her head. «I’ll be sore as shit, but other than that I’m fine.»

«Good» Dolls let her go. «I have to get back to the bridge. You’re soaking wet, go get a shower and some fresh clothes.»

«I’m not leaving her, Dolls.» Wynonna hissed.

«Wynonna»

«I’m not fucking leaving her.»

The Earp sisters sat side-by-side in the hallway outside the sickbay. The ship didn’t have a waiting room, so they had to sit on the floor. The lights in the hallways had switched from white to red. Wynonna had explained that ‘Black-out’ meant that they were in stealth mode. No external communication, short-range radar and minimal lights aboard the ship.

Waverly had linked their arms together and rested her head on Wynonna’s shoulder. Nedley stood with his arms folded, leaning against the opposite wall. His lips were drawn together into a thin line and even the most minute sound from the sickbay made his head shoot up, a desperate look in his eyes. The hours dragged on as they waited.

At one point, Chrissy came running down the hall and gave Nedley a big hug. That was how Waverly found out that Nedley was her father. Chrissy acted much more visibly distraught than her father, but Waverly could see that both of them cared deeply for Nicole. Chrissy stayed for a while, until Nedley ordered her to go to bed, telling her he would wake her when they received any news.

Later Doc arrived with a blanket under one arm and a bottle of whisky under the other. He crouched in front of Wynonna and draped the blanket over both the Earp sisters. Then he handed Wynonna the bottle.

«Thanks» she muttered.

Doc just cupped her cheek and held it there for a moment. Wynonna leaned into the touch and closed her eyes.

«Now drink up» He pulled his hand back and motioned towards the bottle. «You’re gonna need that extra warmth. I know you ain’t gonna get out of those drenched clothes anytime soon. You’re too stubborn.»

Wynonna flipped him off, but drank from the bottle.

Waverly must have dosed off. Suddenly she was shaken awake by Wynonna who was already halfway on her way to standing up. The Doctor, Anna, stepped out into the hallway. Though she had removed her scrubs, Waverly noted a few droplets of blood on her otherwise clean sneakers. Her heart started racing as she breathlessly waited for the doctor to say something.

«She is stable and her condition is no longer critical.» Anna said with a small, reassuring smile.

A sigh of relief travelled through the three of them.

«Ah, Anna, you glorious bastard!» Wynonna laughed. «I could just kiss you.»

«Please don’t»

Nedley stepped forward. «How is she?»

«The bullet went through and by some miracle didn’t hit any vital organs. She lost a lot of blood, but with blood transfusion we stabilised her. She also got a nasty cut in her head, but she doesn’t seem to have sustained any serious head trauma. She’s still sleeping.»

«Can we see her?» Wynonna asked.

Anna grimaced apologetically. «She shouldn’t really be crowded right now. I can let one of you stay with her.»

Wynonna glanced at Waverly, before she met Nedley’s gaze.

«Go on» she motioned towards the door. Nedley just nodded. The doctor opened the door for him and he hurried inside.

«But seriously. Thanks, Anna.» Wynonna said quietly.

Anna stopped halfway through the door. «My pleasure.»

Waverly had waited out in the changing room while Wynonna took a shower. They didn’t speak as they walked together to Wynonna’s room. It was, if possible, even more disheveled than it had been the last time Waverly had been here. Waverly just kicked off her shoes and climbed into the cot, laying down on her side facing the wall. Wynonna pulled off her own shoes and pants before laying down in the cot. The sisters laid, back to back, like they had done so many times before.

«I’m still mad at you.» Waverly whispered.

Wynonna just chuckled at that. «Okay, baby girl.»

They woke up early the next morning and walked together down to the sickbay. Waverly was on her way to knock on the door to the infirmary when Wynonna kicked it open. Nedley was sitting in a chair not far from where Nicole was sitting on the edge of the bed. Gone was the combat gear and a hospital gown had taken its place. The left side of Nicole’s face was heavily bruised, and Waverly could see many small cuts on her arm and hands. Never the less Nicole met them with a warm smile as they walked in.

«Haught damn!» Wynonna exclaimed. «Look at you, up and about already.»

Before Nicole could say anything Wynonna had wrapped her in a tight hug.

Nicole groaned. «Okay, still not a 100%, so maybe less squeezing?» Her voice was strained but there was still a smile on her face.

Wynonna let her go and punched her shoulder. «Don’t you ever do anything that stupid again!»

«Ow!» Nicole rubbed her shoulder. «And look who’s talking.»

«What Wynonna is trying to say is ‘thank you for saving my life, Nicole’» Nedley gave Wynonna a stern look.

«Yeah, thank you for saving my life, Nicole» Wynonna mimicked.

Nicole grinned. «That’s better.»

Wynonna poked at the IV-bag hanging next to Nicole’s bed.

«They give you the good stuff yet?»

«You mean painkillers?»

«Yah»

«Wynonna, I was shot.»

«So they did give you the good stuff?»

«Yes.»

«Wanna share?» Wynonna grinned at Nicole who rolled her eyes at her.

Nedley cleared his throat and got up from the chair. «And I think that’s our cue. Come on, XO. We’ve got a ship to run.»

He planted a quick kiss on the top of Nicole’s head. «You rest up. You deserve it.»

Wynonna gave him a mock salute and turned to Nicole. «You don’t mind Waverly hanging back do you? We gotta do some stuff that Dolls wants to keep on the DL.» She turned to Waverly with an apologetic look on her face. «Sorry, baby girl. It’s not that I don’t trust you. Blame Dolls. He doesn’t trust you yet.»

Before Waverly could respond Wynonna turned on her heels and walked towards the door.

«So we’re all agreed then?» She pushed the door open with her ass and shot finger guns at them. «Good stuff. Laters!»

The door swung shut behind them leaving Waverly and Nicole alone in the infirmary. Waverly had been hanging back a bit, not wanting to intrude on what was clearly an important moment between people who cared for each other. People who had saved each other’s lives.

Now she felt a bit awkward, having not even greeted Nicole as she entered the room. She glanced up at her nervously, only to find Nicole’s warm brown eyes already looking at her.

«Hi» Nicole said softly.

«Hi»

«Are you okay?»

«You’re asking me that? I’m not the one who got shot.»

Nicole grimaced. «It’s not the first time that has happened. Besides I’ve been trained most of my life to deal with those kinds of situations.» She tilted her head a bit at Waverly. «I am assuming that was your first brush with naval combat?»

Waverly nodded. «First brush with any kind of combat if I’m being honest.»

«So are you okay?»

Waverly wrapped her arms around herself. «I think maybe I will be.» She shifted a bit uncomfortably. «Thank you… for going after her.»

Nicole smiled. «Any time.»

Nicole slept a lot that day. The painkillers made her very drowsy and she would nod off from time to time. Wynonna had Chrissy deliver a book to Waverly so she would have something to do. It was a very interesting book, a story about witches and demons. Books within the Alliance were few and far in-between.

Wynonna had popped by with lunch. Waverly had laughed at how Wynonna and Nicole kept bantering and poking fun at each other.

Jeremy came by later and snuck Calamity Jane in, even though it wasn’t allowed. The cat immediately jumped up on Nicole’s bed and curled up in the redhead’s lap. They were of course busted by Anna who gave them a very stern talking to about keeping the sickbay sterile as she picked up the cat and walked over to the door. Neither Waverly nor Nicole missed how the doctor quickly pressed Calamity Jane to her chest and kissed her before she pushed her out the door.

Dolls came by around dinner time, and much to Waverly’s surprise, he had actually taken the time to stop by the galley to bring both of them their dinners.

«Sir» Nicole said as he entered and tried to sit up straighter.

«At ease, Haught.» He put down the trays on the bedside table. «Don’t push yourself on my account.»

«What’s going on? Do you need me for anything?» Nicole asked, still shifting on the bed; unsatisfied with leaning back in the bed, but in too much pain to sit up properly.

«All I need you to do is relax and heal.» Dolls said with just the ghost of a smile on his face. Waverly wondered if he ever did smile.

Dolls continued: «I just wanted to stop by and check up on you. As well as commending you for your quick thinking. Hunkering down in the sub for turbo probably saved your lives.»

«Just doing my job, sir.» Nicole said, her lips drawn into a thin line. She obviously was not the best at accepting praise.

«And you did it well, Haught.»

«Thank you, sir.» Nicole bowed her head slightly.

Dolls attention turned to Waverly, who was sitting not too far from the bed, reading her book.

«Make sure she stays put and actually rests.» He said sternly, but there was an element to his tone that put Waverly at ease.

«I will do my best.» Waverly answered quietly.

«Good. I’ll leave you to it.» Then he focused on Nicole and pointed his finger at her. «Rest.»

«Aye, aye, sir» Nicole saluted.

Wynonna came to pick her up after nightfall. Dolls had decided to end blackout a few hours ago, announcing that they seemed to have shaken their pursuers. Waverly fell in set behind her sister as they headed through the ship towards the officer’s hall and some much needed sleep. But instead of going back to Wynonna’s cabin, Wynonna led her up towards the bridge.

«Where are we going?» Waverly asked as they passed the bridge and continued down a hallway she had never been in before.

«Outside» Wynonna said with a big smile as she opened the bulkhead and stepped out on a walkway that ran the length of the structure.

«Am I even allowed to be out here?» Waverly asked hurriedly.

Wynonna grinned. «I’m basically the boss of this bucket so I say you are.»

Waverly stepped out carefully and closed the bulkhead. Wynonna continued down the walkway to a ladder that went all the way up to the roof of the structure. Not wanting to be left behind, Waverly followed her up the ladder. Wynonna walked to the middle of the roof and then slumped down, leaning back on her elbows. Waverly settled down next to her.

The sea around them was completely calm. The moon and endless stars above them were perfectly mirrored on the surface. Waverly thought she had never before seen anything this spectacular. Sure she had seen the starlight out on the open sea before, but there was something truly ethereal about the serenity of the endless stars both above and below them. Waverly looked out in awe.

«I like to come up here from time to time. The ship can feel damn small, its tighter than a pushup-bra in there.» Wynonna explained quietly.

Waverly just hummed her reply as she wrapped her arms around her knees and looked out at the night. For once Wynonna knew to just let her be. They sat in silence for a while, just listening to the waves and watching the stars.

Wynonna brought out a flask from her pocket and took a sip. She placed it between them and after a moment Waverly took a sip as well. Whisky was still not her favourite, but down it went.

«I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you yet» Waverly began quietly. «I don’t want to hear what you think about the Alliance, but I want to know why you brought me here. Why now?»

Wynonna glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. «Do you promise not to get all huffy and puffy about it?»

«If you promise not to be an asshole about it.» Waverly shot back.

«I solemnly swear to do my best, but sometimes it just slips out.» Wynonna said with her hand over her heart.

Waverly chuckled at her.

Wynonna first took a sip of the whisky then a deep breath. «So mama and daddy were part of something called the BBD, it’s a defence-»

«I know about BBD»

Wynonna frowned. «How?»

«Nicole told me»

Wynonna glanced at her again. «Did she now? Well anyway, they worked for BBD way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. There’s this group of pirates who call themselves Revenants, and daddy fucked up a lot of shit for them. Their leader, Bobo del Rey, decided that daddy in particular was his archenemy or some bullshit. Daddy left BBD to have us settle down on the East coast, back then the Alliance had much less control over that coast than they do now. Daddy pulled us out to keep us safe… It obviously didn’t stick.»

Wynonna sat up and rested her arms on her knees, picking at her own nails. Waverly glanced over to see tears starting to well up in her sister’s eyes.

«It was Bobo who attacked the homestead.» Wynonna said quietly. «He’s the one who killed Willa.»

Waverly didn’t know what to say. She remembered very little of that night. She remembered being woken by gunfire and that there was a lot of crying. She knew that pirates had attacked the homestead and taken Ward and Willa. Wynonna had, in an attempt to help, picked up a gun and fired towards the people that were carrying their father and sister away. The bullet had accidentally hit Ward and killed him. It had all been chalked up to a random raid gone horribly wrong.

Wynonna cleared her throat. «The Revenants have been a plague for years, and we’ve been at war with them for as long, but each time we shut some down two new boats pop up. But recently they’ve seriously increased the heat, way more than it used to be. So we are hitting back just as hard, and now Bobo has some sick obsession with taking me out. I don’t know maybe he wants to finish what he started on the homestead? Then BBD alerted me that they had found a bunch of information on you aboard one of his vessels they’d taken out.» Wynonna reached for the flask. «So I got out ahead of him, planned a little heist to get you out and here we are.» She took a sip from the flask.

Waverly chewed on the inside of her cheek. «So if it hadn’t been for Bobo… Would you ever have come for me?»

Wynonna hung her head and sighed. «Baby girl… Its not that… If I could-»

Waverly shook her head. «Never mind. I don’t wanna know.»

«I’ve missed you every day.» Wynonna said quietly. «And I am so sorry for hurting you.»

Waverly looked back up at the stars. She really wanted to believe her.

They returned to Wynonna’s cabin late at night. It was clear that Wynonna had made an attempt at cleaning; the clothes had been gathered in the laundry bags and the trash was gone, but Waverly could still see the dust bunnies in the corners. On top of the dresser stood a deep green bag.

«Lookie here!» Wynonna said and opened the bag and peeked inside with comically big movements, her eyes wide and a crooked smile on her face. «Arg! Pirate booty!»

Waverly raised her eyebrow at her, clearly unamused.

«Yeah, you’re right. Too soon.» Wynonna pushed the bag towards Waverly. «It’s your stuff.»

Waverly walked over to the bag and looked into it. Her jaw dropped involuntarily. The bag was full of t-shirts, pants, sweaters, shirts and jackets in all kinds of beautiful colours.

Clothes in the Alliance were simple and mass produced. Colourless but comfortable clothing that fit a hard-working lifestyle. Waverly had seen pictures from the old world in school as kid. They had showed them as a warning to the dangers of over-consumption of goods, how these people were the reason the ice had gone. But young Waverly had just seen people wearing brightly coloured clothes, clothes with patterns and crazy pictures. She had always wondered what it would be like to wear those clothes, and she could distinctly remember talking to Wynonna about it excitedly when she and Gus had visited her in prison.

Waverly pulled out a particularly shirt; the fabric was thin and almost see-through, and it was covered in beautiful red flowers. She then pulled out a maroon top and held it up to her torso. She was pretty confident it would fit her just fine.

«Are they okay? Do you like them?» Wynonna asked nervously when Waverly still hadn’t said anything.

«They are beautiful.» Waverly said with a small smile. «Thank you.»

Wynonna beamed at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a bit with this chapter. Kinda worried it wasn't driving the plot enough, but then I decided that we all needed some time to breathe after the action packed last chapters. I hope you enjoyed.  
> Thank you to all who's been reading and commenting.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another breather chapter. One dash of angst and much fluff. I want to preface this chapter with saying: My knowledge about both bartending and gardening goes about as far as the quick google searches I did while writing this. Blame google for any inconsistencies and let your own imaginations fill in the blanks. 
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

The next two week went by painfully slowly. Most of that time was spent down in the sickbay with Nicole. Wynonna would walk her down to the sickbay and come get her again at night. Sleeping in Wynonna’s room wasn’t that bad. Except she was messy, frequently tipsy and she snored. It wasn’t extremely loud snoring, but it was enough to make it even harder for Waverly, who already had troubles sleeping, to fall asleep.

Though things were getting better between the sisters, there was still some tension. Wynonna had after all lied to her all her life, abandoned her and then kidnapped her. But it was slowly getting better.

The first week, Nicole had to stay on bedrest, which meant they were stuck in the sickbay all day. So to kill time Waverly and Nicole would talk, read, play games and nap. Nicole, who was still healing, needed a lot of rest and Waverly dutifully made sure she got it. Mostly by saying that she herself would nap so that she could catch up on some much needed sleep. The sickbay had two hospital beds, and Anna had allowed Waverly to use the other for their daily nap-session as long as nobody else needed it, and on the condition that Waverly would change the sheets should the need arise.

The second week they added ‘physical exercise’ to the list of activities. Nicole hated calling it physical exercise because «It’s literally just walking.»

First they walked in circles around the room; Nicole walking on her own with Waverly by her side, ready to jump in and help at the slightest sign of it being needed. Then they had walked up and down hallways. Nicole of course tried to push herself too hard, and Waverly scolded to get her to take it easy. The redhead grew more and more impatient and restless, tired of being cooped up and unable to do her job. But Waverly took Dolls’ orders seriously, and whenever Nicole would try to overexert herself, Waverly gave her a stern look or a quick talking to which usually made her back down.

By the end of the week, Nicole could walk with no pain and climb ladders with only minimal pain. Both of them sighed in relief when Anna had finally released Nicole from the sickbay.

«And just in time for dinner» Nicole smiled as she put on her jacket.

Waverly walked into the galley first and held the door so Nicole could step in. There was a queue in front of the food station; hungry sailors lining up to get fed. Some had already filled their trays and were sitting at the tables. Waverly looked around the room. She knew that Wynonna would be busy today, which meant that she would probably eat at her post, but that didn’t stop Waverly from looking just to be sure.

A quiet settled over the room as people noticed who had just returned to the fold. Then the room erupted in cheers and applause. Nicole’s cheeks turned pink as she smiled shyly and then reluctantly waved.

It was slow going through the galley, not just because of the queue, but also because Nicole kept being stopped by other crew members who wanted to welcome her back or congratulate her for a job well done. Waverly silently stood by and watched as Nicole was as polite as she could while at the same time trying to squirm away from all the attention. They finally made it to Shorty, who gave Nicole a healthy portion. When Waverly held out her tray, Shorty leaned in closer.

«I know you had the toughest job, makin’ sure that one» he nodded his head towards Nicole who was again occupied with a crew member who wanted to welcome her back «stayed put durin’ her recovery. We all know how she gets. Here, for all your hard work.» He said with a wink and put an extra apple on her tray.

«What the fuck, Shorty?»

Waverly spun around to find the source of the outburst. She came face to face with Fish. He wasn’t much taller than Waverly, but the sheer disgust in his face made Waverly instinctively take a step back.

«Come now, Fish» Shorty started.

«No, what the fuck? Everyone else has to work for our share and you’re giving the freeloader an extra apple for what? Kissing Haught’s ass?» Fish snarled.

Waverly felt a quick hand on her back as Nicole stepped past her and placed herself between her and Fish.

«Stand down.» She said calmly but decisively.

«Of course you step in, wouldn’t want the new toy to get sad» Fish scoffed. «You fucked her yet?»

Nicole stepped into his space. She just a few inches taller than him, but the every air around her made it seem like she towered over him.

«I said: Stand down.» There was a danger in her voice now, a controlled anger that felt more threatening than unbridled anger ever could.

Fish shook his head, his face contorted in anger and disgust. «Un-fucking-beliveable. I’m just telling the truth here.» He said as he turned to the rest of the galley. «You think any of us would be allowed to bring a fucking freeloader onboard?»

«That’s enough.» Nicole clenched her fists, and Waverly could see how the muscles in her jaw tensed.

«We risked our life going into Alliance territory only to bring a freeloader onboard, and now we all have to give her special treatment for what? Playing a sexy nurse?» He shouted.

«That’s enough!» Nicole snapped. «Go take a walk, Fish. That’s an order.»

Fish threw his tray onto a nearby table and stalked out of the galley. «This is bullshit.»

Nicole followed him with her eyes until the door slammed shut behind him, then she turned to Waverly.

«Are you okay?»

Waverly nodded, knowing that her voice would betray the lie if she had tried speaking. The old fear she hadn’t felt for a while had reared its ugly head again. She was terrified to look out into the rest of the galley; what if they all held that same view? What if all of them hated her? Images of deadly pirates flashed before her eyes again.

Nicole motioned for Waverly to head over to the officer’s row and picked up the tray of food she had put down on the counter. The other crew members mumbled amongst themselves, Waverly couldn’t make out if they were agreeing with Fish’s sentiment or not.

They sat down opposite each other at the table. Waverly bit the inside of her cheek and tried to force the images that had resurfaced from her mind.

«Don’t listen to him. He’s always been an asshole.» Nicole said quietly. The controlled anger still clear in her voice, though it was not as terrifying anymore.

«He’s not wrong…» Waverly kept her voice low.

Nicole frowned down at her. «What?»

«Well… I haven’t exactly earned my keep.»

Nicole rested her elbows on the table. «Waves, you don’t need to think-»

«I want to earn my keep.» Waverly said firmly. «I want to be a valuable member of the crew.»

A slow smile spread over Nicole’s face. «Alright» she chuckled. «We’ll talk to Dolls. See if we can’t work something out.»

Nicole stood at attention, while Waverly stood with her arms crossed next to her. Dolls had turned the pilot’s chair around so he could face them and was resting his head in his hand.

«You want a job?»

Waverly nodded. «It doesn’t have to be anything super important, but something to do would be nice. Earn my keep.»

«Do you have any skills that could benefit the ship? Any jobs you think you would be particularly suited for?»

«I make a mean drink.» Waverly said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Again that ghost of a smile spread across Dolls’ face; it was just a subtle narrowing of his eyes, a tightness that spread over his lips, but it felt like a smile none the less.

«Unfortunately, this is not a cruise liner, but a war worthy ship. As much as the crew values a good drink, bartender is not a post that needs to be filled on this vessel.»

«I am a very quick learner and I’m always eager to learn something new» she blurted out and at a second thought added: «Sir.»

Dolls shifted his gaze to Nicole. «What is your assessment? Do you think she can be trusted to get more access to the ship and its inner workings?»

Nicole glanced quickly over at Waverly before she said: «Yes, sir, I do.»

«Hmm» Dolls sat up and turned back to the dashboard. «I’ll look into it. See if we can find anything for you. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.»

«Thank you, sir.» Waverly smiled.

The next day they had gone down to the gym again. Wynonna had gotten Waverly her own sneakers that actually fit and she wanted to have another go at the treadmill. This time their roles were reversed; Waverly managed to get a hang of the jog, while Nicole had to walk next to her. Nicole was not happy about having to walk, but the one time she had tried to increase to a jog Waverly had set off on another one of her scoldings and Nicole had slowed down again.

Once their workout was finished, they had showered. Purgatory was fitted with shower stalls which gave you privacy while showering, but a communal dressing room. Waverly had focused very hard on the locker in front of her to stop her eyes from wandering.

After lunch Dolls had called them up to the bridge. The bridge was quiet. It was actually Wynonna who was at the helm. She gave them a bright smile before her attention returned to the instruments.

Dolls glanced over his shoulder as they stepped inside. «So, I’ve found something I think I’ll be comfortable letting you help out with.» He said as he swirled his chair around to face them. «You’ll be helping Chrissy down in the Greenhouse. It is not the biggest job, but it’ll give you something to do a few hours a day. Haught will continue to escort you for now. Report down in the greenhouse tomorrow at 0800. Questions?»

Waverly couldn’t contain the smile that spread over her face. She glanced back at Wynonna who winked at her with a bright smile.

«No, sir» Waverly replied looking back at Dolls. «Thank you, sir.»

Dolls nodded his head once. «Also, in a few weeks, when you’ve healed up more, Haught, I want you to start to give her combat training.»

«What?» Wynonna barked from behind the helm.

Dolls just glanced at her. «We’ll start with hand-to-hand and take it from there. I am already stretching my limits by having a civilian onboard, Earp. I want her to at least have minimal knowledge of how to defend herself.»

Waverly was excited at the prospect. She had never really imagined herself fighting, but the prospect of Nicole teaching her to move with the same deadly precision was exciting.

«We’re not turning my sister into a soldier» Wynonna muttered.

«I agree.» Dolls said, turning his attention back to Nicole and Waverly. «When Anna clears you for it, you can start training her, Haught.»

«Yes, sir.»

Dolls swirled his chair back. «Dismissed.»

Since Nicole had taken over escort duty for Waverly again, Wynonna had jumped on the chance to get a night to herself. Wynonna had disappeared with a bottle of whisky after dinner and they had not seen her since. The two had taken a walk topside, talking around and around the ship a few times.

«Nicole?»

«Yes?» The setting sun danced across her red hair, turning its colour impossibly brighter.

«What do you do on the ship? When you’re not having to follow me around everywhere I mean.»

«Well, on the ship I’m the Security Chief. So it’s my job to ensure that everyone aboard the ship is safe-»

«Performing daring rescues through enemy gunfire and such?»

Nicole laughed. «When I have to. The majority of my duties lie outside the ship. I’m specialised in combat and infiltration. In the old world they would have called it a Marine. But I’m a decent enough mechanic so I help out where I can. And Doc lets me be in charge of our assault weapons and combat gear so he can focus on the ship’s guns. So even though I don’t have a specific task vital to the function of the ship, I manage to fill my days.»

«Except when you have to play at being a jailer to the XO’s little sister?»

«Well, you are the biggest security threat we’ve had aboard in a long time.» Nicole glanced at her, a playful smile on her lips.

«I’ve never actually been a security threat before. Don’t think I’ve been a threat to anything before.»

Nicole chuckled. «Oh, just you wait till we start your training. I’ll teach you some tricks.»

«All I ask is that you teach me some kind of moves» Waverly chopped at the air «so I can knock Wynonna on her ass. Just once.»

Nicole laughed. «That can be arranged.»

Waverly grinned.

«Are you excited about your assignment?» Nicole asked after a few moments of silence had passed between them.

«I’ve never worked with plants before, so that will be very interesting. And as much as I enjoy spending time with you, it’ll be nice to have something to do.» Waverly ran her hand along side the railing as they walked. She hoped that Nicole hadn’t caught on to her little slip up. 

«I must say, I’m kind of disappointed we don’t get to try your ‘mean drinks’.» Nicole chuckled.

«You have a bar onboard, don’t you?»

Waverly found her way behind the bar while Nicole settled down on one of the stools in front of it.

«So, Security Chief Haught, what’ll it be?» Waverly asked, her face schooled into the same polite and open expression she had used on the Minerva.

Nicole chuckled. «Why don’t you surprise me?»

Waverly started going through the fridge and cabinets. They didn’t have anywhere near the supplies that the Minerva had, but she could make a few decent drinks with what she had.

«Sweet or sour?» Waverly asked as she brought out the shaker.

«Sweet» Nicole said as she leaned on the bar, stretching her neck to see what Waverly was doing.

«Alright, let’s see what we can do here.» Waverly said as she picked up their glasses, quickly tossing the glasses in the air before catching them and placing them on the bar. Then she grabbed the shaker, spinning it with fluid motions a few times before she grabbed the bottle, tossed it in the air and balanced it on the back of her hand for a second before she poured the liquid into the shaker.

«Impressive.» Nicole said with a smile.

«You should have seen some of the bartenders on the Minerva.» Waverly said as she picked up the jigger, let it roll down her arm, bumping it when it hit her elbow and grabbed it in the air. «They make what little I know look like child’s play.»

She started pouring mixer into the jigger, measuring how much she needed before dumping it into the shaker.

Glancing up and seeing Nicole with a genuine impressed expression on her face, Waverly upped the ante. She brought out the most impressive tricks she knew, tossing the shaker around to mix the drink, threw ice cubes in the air to catch them with the glasses.

Finally she poured the final product into the glasses and pushed one across the bar to Nicole.

The redhead grabbed the glass and took a careful sip of the drink. Her eyes went wide. «Holy shit, Waves. This is awesome.»

«Really?» Waverly beamed at her.

Nicole drank some more. «Maybe we should have a full-time bartender after all.»

«Don’t you try to take my plants from me, missy.»

Later that night, Wynonna had drunkenly stumbled into the Game Room to find Nicole and Waverly playing board games, shouted «Lame» and told Waverly it was bedtime. Then she had promptly passed out on the mattress as soon as they got to the room.

Waverly turned over on her back and sighed. Being drunk did not help Wynonna’s snoring and Waverly was now on the second hour of trying to ignore the loud bouldering breaths so she could fall asleep.

«Wynonna» Waverly said. «Wynonna!»

Wynonna snorted and lifted her head. «Huh?»

«You’re snoring.»

Wynonna nodded and chewed loudly. «Yes, I’m great at storing» she mumbled sleepily as she laid her head back down and promptly continued snoring.

Waverly groaned and placed her pillow over her head. It muted the sound a bit, but then Wynonna rolled over on her back and the snoring became even worse.

In frustration, Waverly threw her pillow at her sister. Wynonna snorted again and abruptly stopped snoring. Waverly held her breath for a few seconds, but her sister remained silent. Happy with her victory, but one pillow poorer, Waverly covered her eyes with her arm and tried to get to sleep.

The victory was short-lived however as Wynonna mumbled something in her sleep and then resumed her snoring. Waverly sat up and rubbed her eyes. The last week had not offered many opportunities for napping as Nicole got better and needed less rest. Nicole normally didn’t like napping, and had really only done so on account of strong pain-meds and the gunshot wound. So Waverly was already behind on her sleep and she really didn’t want to be tired tomorrow. It was her first day helping out down in the greenhouse and she really didn’t want to start at a disadvantage.

Waverly swung her legs over the edge of the bed, cold steel meeting the soles of her feet. She stepped over Wynonna and walked over to the door. As quietly as she could she opened it and peeked out into the hallway. It was empty. She darted out, quickly closed the door behind her. Her heart raced a bit as walked the few short steps down the hall. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be alone, certainly not walk through the hallway alone. Luckily it wasn’t a long walk, just one door down.

Waverly pulled the door open as quietly as she could and stepped inside. Nicole lifted her head from her pillow; her training rousing her from her sleep in an instant.

«Waverly? Is everything alright?» Nicole frowned and reached over to turn on the nightlight.

«Yeah, I just» Now that she was here Waverly became aware of how stupid this was. «Sorry, this was really dumb, I’ll just-»

«What is it?» Nicole sat up, worry clear on her face.

«Nothing’s wrong, its just…» Waverly rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand. «Wynonna is snoring and I can’t sleep because of it. Could I - CouldISleepInHere?»

Nicole let out a breathy laugh. «Eh, yeah, yeah sure.»

Waverly walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. Nicole laid back down and shifted to give Waverly room to lie down. Careful not to bump into Nicole’s still healing left side Waverly laid down with her back to Nicole.

«Thanks.» She whispered.

«No problem» Nicole whispered back.

It didn’t take long before Nicole had fallen back asleep. Waverly could hear her slow steady breathing behind her. Contrary to Wynonna’s snoring, Nicole’s steady breathing was soothing. Waverly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

«Nicole!» Wynonna’s voice echoed loudly through the closed door.

Waverly noticed two things in the second she had before Nichole leaped out of the bed:

Number one was that sometime during the night, they had switched places. Waverly could faintly remember gaining a few seconds of consciousness as Nicole had carefully climbed over her to go to the bathroom. Waverly had just shuffled towards the wall and gone back to sleep.

Number two was that Nicole had draped her arm over Waverly’s waist sometime after that. Waverly suspected it had not been a conscious choice, but she couldn’t say that she minded the contact.

But as Wynonna shouted and tore the door open, Nicole leaped out of the bed at a truly impressive speed.

«Nicole! Waverly is» Wynonna stopped in the doorway, her eyes shifting from Nicole who stood on the floor and Waverly who just lifted her head from the pillow «Here. Waverly is here. Why is Waverly - Why are you here?»

Waverly just laid her head back down on the pillow and pulled the blankets closer around herself. «You snore.»

«No, I don’t.»

«Yes, you do.»

Wynonna huffed indignantly. «Well… Next time you decide to sneak off to schnuggle with Haught you have to-»

«We weren’t snuggling.» Nicole stammered.

Wynonna raised an eyebrow. «Sure. Waverly, tell me next time. I almost had a heart attack.»

Waverly just gave her a thumbs up and closed her eyes again, trying to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep.

«Right. See you at breakfast.» Wynonna said and shut the door.

Nicole let out the breath she had been holding and leaned towards the dresser. Waverly opened her eyes to glance at her. Nicole hissed under her breath as she pressed her hand to her wound.

«Are you okay?» Waverly asked.

Nicole nodded. «Yeah, I just» She motioned towards the door. «She startled me.» Nicole lifted her shirt and checked the bandage. There was no blood or any indication that her acrobatics had torn any of her stitches. «I’m fine» She stated and pulled her shirt down again.

«Good» Waverly smiled.

Nicole rubbed the back of her neck, her cheeks starting to turn a faint shade of pink. «Sorry, about the» She moved her arm through the air as if she was placing it around someone, the motion very reminiscent of how Nicole had her arm draped across Waverly’s waist when they woke up.

«Its fine»

Nicole let out a nervous laugh. «I should’ve gotten a mattress last night. Sorry.»

Waverly sat up, realising that she was probably not gonna be able to get more sleep.

«Nicole, it’s fine. I don’t mind.» She smiled as she combed through her hair with her fingers.

Nicole let out another breathy, nervous laugh. Then as if she remembered herself she pulled open a drawer, brought out some fresh clothes.

«I’m just gonna» she mumbled as she motioned towards the bathroom.

Before Waverly could respond she disappeared inside and locked the door behind her.

Nicole opened the bulkhead and they stepped into the greenhouse. The roof was made of thick plastic. There were a few rows of deep flowerbeds, while the walls that faced the back of the ship were covered racks where the vines had curled around the steel. Waverly had never in her life seen so much concentrated greens in one place. She knew that most of the food in the world was not grown either to the far north, or in massive greenhouses, but Philadelphia had been packed with people and concrete and very little green.

Scattered around the room were sleek, steel counters where they could work. The room smelt of earth, grass and herbs. Waverly immediately decided this was her favourite room on Purgatory.

Chrissy stood up from where she had crouched down to dig into the dirt of the flowerbed.

«Hey!» She smiled brightly and pulled off her gloves. «Ready to start working?»

«You have no idea.» Waverly answered honestly.

«Right, no need to dillydally.»

Chrissy showed her around the greenhouse; pointing out the various plants and vegetables. Because of turbo they couldn’t plant just anything. The majority of the green in here were root vegetables like carrots, radishes and potatoes, but there was a bed where she grew kale, and row of varying herbs; basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme.

«The cherry tomatoes and snap peas take most of the beating because of Turbo. But we do get a few harvest once in a while.» Chrissy explained as she gestured towards the vines that had grown all the way up the wall. «It’s not the most impressive garden. I have to do this in addition to my other responsibilities, but now that you’re here, maybe we can get this greenhouse up and running properly.»

«This isn’t properly?» Waverly frowned. How much more did Chrissy expect to grow in here?

«It’s good enough. But we could get more if it got more care.»

«Well, I will help out any way that I can.» Waverly smiled.

«That’s the spirit. I knew I was going to like you, little Earp.»


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We do a little time jump. Waverly and Nicole explore the floating city of Ancrapolis. Then I slap you in the face with a tiny bit of angst. You know, the usual.
> 
> Music tip: Someone to you - BANNERS is a good song for how Waverly feels.

* * *

For the first time since Waverly had been brought aboard this ship time passed at a normal pace. Chrissy was a good teacher, and over the hours they spent in the Greenhouse together they had become fast friends.

Waverly put in her best effort and over the next week her work was paying off. The last time they made landfall, Chrissy had brought back new seeds. They planted them together while Nicole occupied one of the steel workbenches to do an overhaul of Purgatory’s arsenal. The sound of Nicole disassembling, cleaning and then reassembling various kinds of guns had become as common in the Greenhouse as the sounds of the ventilation and watering systems.

Waverly had caught up quickly, and though Chrissy still joined her for a few hours a day, the Greenhouse had slowly but surely become Waverly’s responsibility. She would check the plants for any pests or insects that could damage them, document the plant growth and note on the its health, clean every surface and tool on a regular basis as well as maintain the ventilation and watering systems.

Nicole’s least favourite part was when Waverly cleaned the plastic roof and maintained the ventilations systems. Chrissy and Waverly had rigged a harness and the entire job was completed while suspended 15 feet in the air. Nicole stood underneath Waverly the entire time as if she could catch her should she fall. The furrow between her brows became deeper and deeper the longer Waverly spent up there.

Waverly loved the Greenhouse. Her own little piece of Eden. She loved feeling the dirt between her fingers, loved tending the plants, loved the ladybugs who had their home inside the greenhouse. The ladybugs were perhaps her favourite part; a cheaper, healthier and better way to keep the insect population down than pesticide would be. And they were cute.

The first harvest had been fun; a change in the routine of the Greenhouse. But her favourite part had been coming to meals the next day and seeing the product of their work being served to the crew.

Before she knew it a month had passed. Dolls had slowly started giving her more freedom and access. On a few occasions Waverly had been left alone in the Greenhouse. Nicole or Chrissy would always be in either the workshop or armoury, both of which was in the same hallway as the Greenhouse but least it was a step in the right direction, even if it was a small one.

She still had to share a room with either Wynonna or Nicole. Between the two, Waverly much preferred Nicole’s room on account of the cleanliness and lack of snoring. Wynonna moved through her cabin like hurricane, and wouldn’t clean it properly. Waverly had taken it upon herself to make sure that the cabin was clean, which would sometimes prompt her sister into making a half-hearted attempt to help.

Last week Dolls had even let Nicole give her another tour of the ship. She got to see the engine room, combat information centre, workshops and armoury. The Communication centre was still off limits for now.

These last few weeks had been easy sailing. Nicole had told her that they were being pulled back from the border to join two other ships that were escorting a massive tanker. Purgatory was quicker than most heavy vessels and could cover a larger area faster, so while the large battleships flanked the tanker on either side, Purgatory would do large circles around the other vessels, scouting for dangers. The tanker was headed for the floating city of Ancrapolis, and it was carrying the most precious commodity for the floating cities; fresh drinking water.

Even though most seaworthy vessels could purify saltwater, it wasn’t healthy drinking it for extended periods of time. On Purgatory, the distilled water was used for every other purpose other than drinking and cooking.

Another sign that Waverly was slowly finding her place amongst the Purgatory crew was the fact that Dolls had given her and Nicole permission to disembark when they docked in Ancrapolis. The prospect of exploring this new city excited Waverly more than she thought it would.

Waverly stopped right before the gangway. She had seen images of the floating cities on the newsfeeds and knew they were massive, but the gigantic behemoth of a structure that was Ancrapolis dwarfed any expectations she could have had.

The floating cities were a marvel of engineering; an entire city built out of scrap metal scavenged from the seas. It was not only big in size, but it was tall. The inner superstructure was framed by tower-like structures, numerous walkways went between all the structures at different levels.

They had sailed into one of the massive docking bays in the city. Around and above them was massive steel walls, stairs, walkways and platforms.

Below her on the busy dock Waverly could see Wynonna and Dolls walk over to the tanker that was docked a couple of hundred feet away from Purgatory, currently in the process of setting up to pump the water into Ancrapolis’ water reserves; Massive hoses were being lowered from high above down on the deck to be fastened to the water tanks onboard. They were meeting with the other captains to plan the return journey.

The rest of the crew that had been cleared to disembark was already heading off into the city to enjoy a few hours of long awaited shore leave. Waverly and Nicole were the last of those cleared to disembark.

Waverly had been excited at the prospect of not only seeing a floating city, but being allowed to disembark the ship and explore it. She had not stepped foot off of Purgatory since her arrival, with the exception of the time they had been in the Submarine.

Now that she was standing in front of the gangway, that excitement had evaporated and had been replaced by dread.

Her mind had started conjuring up memories of the Alliance newsfeeds talking about how the floating cities were lawless, despicable places filled with vultures and opportunists who regularly traded with and aided pirates. On this dock alone Waverly could see so many people. People she didn’t know. People she didn’t trust. It all felt entirely too dangerous.

«We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.» Nicole said quietly, placing a soft hand on Waverly’s back.

«I want to. But…» Waverly looked around the docking bay. It felt so threatening, so unlike any city she had ever been in. Part of her couldn’t even understand how this city was possible. How could steel support so much weight?

Nicole stepped past Waverly onto the gangplank. She turned around with a reassuring smile.

«How about we take this one step at the time?» She asked as she held out her hand. «If you at any point want to return to the ship, all you need to do is tell me and I’ll take you back.»

Waverly looked at Nicole’s outstretched hand, then out at the new and scary city. It felt overwhelming and she felt much like she did when she first arrived on Purgatory. But Nicole was looking up at her with understanding eyes, offering her something to hold on to through the fear.

Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand and took one small step out on the gangway, then another. One step at the time, they descended. Waverly knew she was clutching the redhead’s hand too tightly, but it was all she could do not to turn around and run back inside the safety of Purgatory.

Finally her feet landed on the dock. The rest of the crew had faded from view, but there were still dockworkers moving right and left, shouting in languages Waverly didn’t understand.

Waverly stood for a moment and tried to take in everything. Her mind still screamed at her that she was in danger, but Nicole was still holding her hand, anchoring her to the ground.

«Ready?» Nicole asked quietly.

Waverly took a deep breath and nodded. Nicole led the way across the dock, towards a set of steel doors that led deeper into the belly of the beast.

The door’s hydraulics hissed as it opened automatically on their approach. It opened on a long hallway that ended in another set of steel doors. Once they were through those they found themselves in a big hall.

People came from all sides and gathered in groups around the rows of elevators on both sides of this hall. Nicole led them to elevators to their right and they stood for a moment, waiting for one to arrive. Waverly stepped closer to Nicole and wrapped her free hand around her upper arm. The last thing she wanted to happen was for them to get separated.

Waverly’s eyes kept darting around, every move made by those around her set of another jolt of fear, each one threatening to send her over the edge into panic.

«Are you okay?» Nicole asked quietly.

Waverly forced herself to remember how excited she had been at the prospect of exploring this city. She wasn’t going to retreat until she had seen something more than a hallway and some elevators.

«Mhm» She responded.

The elevator dinged and opened. The stream of people coming out of the elevator went to the left, while the stream of people that were on their way into it went right. Nicole and Waverly were swept with the current and before Waverly could really understand what was going on, they were crammed inside with at least twenty other people.

As the doors closed Waverly felt her heart starting to race. She could not get out, she could hardly move, and there were people everywhere.

To make matters worse she felt Nicole wriggle her fingers and try to let go of Waverly’s hand. Waverly knew that if she lost her anchor, she would spiral out of control, so she squeezed even harder. Nicole shifted a bit and then Waverly could feel Nicole’s other hand gently touching her palm and nudging her to grab onto that instead. As quick as she could, Waverly switched her grip from one hand to the other. Then Nicole pulled her gently forward while she shifted to step a bit behind Waverly, and she placed her now free arm around her. Not quite touching her, but the arm worked as a shield which Waverly could hide behind and she pressed even closer to Nicole’s side.

Waverly’s eyes darted around searching for a threat; any sign that could tell her that someone was about to attack. Her eyes landed on a little girl who couldn’t be older than five. She was being held by her father and as soon as Waverly looked at her, the girl smiled brightly and waved.

Waverly tried her best to smile back, but she doubted she was successful. The girl seemed content however, and nuzzled into her father’s shoulder.

Finally the elevator stopped and the stream of people carried them out of the confined space and into another hall. Nicole kept moving them forward while the crowd around them dispersed. They went through another door, down another hallway and out through a second set of double steel doors.

The first thing that hit her was the noise. The light here was much brighter than it had been inside the structure and Waverly had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted. She found herself looking out on what looked like a massive market.

This place looked more like a city than Waverly had expected; there were rows of buildings, most of them two or three storeys high.

Pieces of cloth in every colour had been draped between the buildings to give the people walking in the streets some shade from the gruelling sun. As the wind moved through the fabric Waverly could just glimpse the superstructure at the heart of Ancrapolis.

In the streets were stalls and shops and people who talked and shouted and moved. The sounds of the city felt deafening.

On the second floor of one building a man was hanging up clothes to dry on a clothesline that hung below a big window. A woman walked past with a massive jug balanced on her head. Two men were arguing over something by one of the stalls. A few children laughed as they ran past.

Waverly was completely overwhelmed as her mind took in the amazing sights while her entire body screamed at her to panic.

Nicole tugged on her hand and Waverly’s attention snapped to the redhead so fast it hurt her neck.

«This way» She said softly as she started leading them down a street that led a bit away from the markets.

Waverly had trouble paying attention to where they were going, but kept as close to Nicole as she could and tried her best to process everything going on around her.

When she finally calmed down enough to function, she realised that Nicole had led them away from the main thoroughfare and they were now climbing a narrow set of stairs. The intense sounds of the marketplace had faded into the background and though the noise level of the city in general was quite high, it wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been before.

They crested the stairs and Waverly realised that Nicole had taken them to a rooftop café. A light blue sheet of fabric had been put up above them to block out the sun. There was a bar in the corner. A few people sitting at the tables enjoying their lunch, but this place didn’t feel anywhere near as crowded as the streets below.

Nicole led them to a table right by the railing. From here they could see the entire section of the city sprawling out in front of them.

«It’s a bit easier to get used to it all up here where you can watch from a distance.» Nicole said softly. «At least it was for me.»

Waverly could already feel the intense anxiety she had felt down in the streets slowly fading away. By no means did she feel entirely safe, but at least here she had a better chance at keeping track of the people who were around her.

«How long did it take you? To get used to it?» Waverly asked in a shaky voice.

«I’m still working on it.» Nicole answered honestly. «But its gotten a lot better. Exposure like this helped. Seeing people and kids and life that directly contradicts everything they told us were true. I’ve learned to trust what I see and experience on my own terms.»

«I’m trying, but its all just… so much.»

Nicole squeezed her hand. «I know. Remember, if you want to return to the ship all you need to do is tell me.»

«I will.»

«Good» Nicole turned and looked at the bar. «Another thing that helped me acclimatise quicker was trying out the local food. Hungry?»

They sat down at a table by the railing and ordered their lunch. Waverly had expected the menu to consist entirely of fish but she had found a surprising number of different kind of dishes that were not based on a diet of fish. She ordered a salad while Nicole ordered a sandwich.

Nicole told her about the first time she had set foot inside a city outside the Alliance. After hearing the recounted tale Waverly was slightly relieved that Wynonna hadn’t been the one to bring her on this first daring expedition. Wynonna’s strategy was definitely more ‘throw them in the deep end’ than Nicole’s had been this far.

The food was delicious, the drinks good and the conversation even better. At times Waverly would forget that they were sitting on a floating city outside Alliance territory.

When they finished eating they sat for a while and just people-watched. Waverly found that Nicole had been right: It helped watching people just being people. Not monsters, not pirates or wild scavengers who would take everything you owned before your body was even cold. Just people.

The busy streets started slowing down as the lunch-rush had passed and people returned to work or home.

«You want to see the market?» Nicole asked.

Waverly glanced down at the streets below them. There was still quite a number of people down there, but it didn’t feel as overwhelming.

«Sure» Waverly said, trying her best to sound brave.

Nicole caught the attention of their waiter; a beautiful young woman, with dark skin and a bright smile and asked for the bill.

Suddenly Waverly remembered the money that Wynonna had given her before they disembarked. She had just shoved it in her pocket and then forgotten about it until now. The concept of actual physical money was strange to Waverly.

Within the Alliance all money was digital and tied to your identification card. You had a certain amount to spend each month dependent on how much you’d worked and whenever you needed to buy anything you would just scan your card and the amount would be subtracted from your account.

The waiter returned with the bill. Waverly snatched it away before Nicole could grab it.

«Let me pay.»

«You really don’t have to.» Nicole shifted a bit in her chair, hand still hovering over the table where she had gone to grab the bill.

«I want to. As a ‘thank you’ for spending your few hours of shore leave with me while I freak out over basically nothing.» Waverly smiled.

Nicole’s cheeks started getting a slight pink hue. «There’s no need to- I don’t- It’s really not-» She stammered.

Waverly handed the money to the waiter. «Keep the change.»

«Thank you, miss» The waiter smiled and walked away from the table.

Nicole let out a breathy laugh. «Well, I suppose I should thank you for lunch then.»

«It was my pleasure.» Waverly grinned.

They had walked through the market for a little while. Waverly slowly became more confident, though she still wanted to stay close to Nicole and would occasionally startle when someone made a loud noise or an unexpected move.

Waverly had used most of her first allowance to buy candy, some more clothes and some jewellery. Other than her mother’s necklace, Waverly had never really owned any jewellery. Now that she did her mind went wild with all the ways she could combine them with her now expanded wardrobe. She also bought a new set of gloves she could wear down in the Greenhouse; they were colourful and fit better than the standard issue gloves that were available on Purgatory.

Nicole had offered to carry some of the packages for her, and Waverly happily let her. They had moved to the outskirts of the market. Nicole was speaking rapidly in Spanish with the owner of a stall that sold knives, daggers and machetes. They were well made, but Waverly did not have an ounce of the same interest Nicole showed for the weapons.

Instead, Waverly looked around. The next street over seemed to be more of a residential area, but there was one seedy-looking bar on the corner further down the street.

The streets were slowly starting to fill up again as they neared dinnertime and Waverly shifted a bit uncomfortably.

Her eyes drifted towards the bar again. To her surprise they landed on Fish. He didn’t seem to have noticed her; too engrossed in quiet conversation with the man he was walking with. Waverly shifted her gaze to the man and felt her entire body grow cold.

He looked to be around forty, was bald and absolutely full of muscles. There was just something about him that immediately made Waverly afraid. The man wore nice enough clothes, and there wasn’t anything about him that should stand out or cause Waverly to have the reaction she did, yet she instinctively took a step back and bumped into Nicole who had just been handed a small wrapped package.

«Waverly? What is it?» Nicole placed a hand on Waverly’s back to steady her and her eyes scanned the area around them, trying to localise the source of Waverly’s fear.

«Do you know who that is?» Waverly tried to discreetly point in the direction of the unknown man and Fish. «The man walking with Fish?»

Nicole looked at them. They still hadn’t noticed that Nicole and Waverly were there; they kept talking, their heads close together as they walked at a fast pace down the street.

«No. But Fish grew up here. It’s probably just someone he knows. Why? Have you seen him before?» Nicole looked at Waverly, concern clear in her eyes.

«No… I’ve never seen him before.»

«But he scares you?» Nicole asked softly.

Suddenly Waverly felt incredibly stupid. «I’m just being paranoid.»

«Are you sure? I could talk to Fish when he returns to the ship? Find out some more?»

«No, no, I’m just paranoid and tired.» Waverly laughed. It was an attempt to shake off the tension that had set in her entire body, but it failed miserably. «Let’s go back.»

«Do you want to go back to the ship?»

Waverly nodded. The fear had planted itself in the back of her mind, and now every shadow seemed darker and every person more menacing.

They walked back and took the elevator down. Waverly’s anxiety had flared up again, but Nicole was there with a reassuring hand to anchor her as they made their way back.

Waverly started feeling more calm the moment Purgatory came into view. She loosened the grip she had on Nicole’s hand, but didn’t let go entirely.

«Thank you for today.» Waverly said quietly.

Nicole glanced down at her. «Didn’t you already thank me by paying for lunch?»

Waverly chuckled a bit self-consciously. «I feel like buying lunch doesn’t quite make up for you playing chaperone while I had the occasional bouts of panic attacks.»

«No, you’re totally right. You should at least buy me dinner.»

«Maybe even two dinners.»

«Now we’re talking.» Nicole pursed her lips slightly and nodded her approval, a playful glint in her eyes. Waverly laughed a bit at that.

«But seriously» Waverly continued after a beat. «Thank you. I don’t think I would have set foot outside the ship if it wasn’t for you. Much less walk through the market.»

«It’s my pleasure, Waverly. I’ll be here any time you need me.» Nicole gave her a genuine smile. Waverly smiled as she meet those brown eyes. She realised she could get lost in those eyes.

«Hey!» Wynonna’s voice cut through the air.

Nicole immediately let go of Waverly’s hand as both of them turned towards Wynonna who came strolling up behind them.

«My two favourite people.» Wynonna said as she placed herself between them and placed her arm around Waverly’s shoulders. «Waverly and that dude over there.» She pointed at a dockworker who was coiling some rope a few feet away from them.

«Hello, Wynonna.» Nicole said dryly.

«How was it?» Wynonna asked Waverly, ignoring Nicole.

«It was fun.»

«I can see that» Wynonna poked at the packages Waverly had under her arm. «Did you spend your first salary well?»

«I like to think so.»

«What did you get?»

«Some chocolate, some clothes, jewellery-»

Wynonna gasped. «Fuck, I’m so jealous. I was stuck in dumb meetings all day and now I don’t have time to do shit.» She grabbed Waverly’s hand. «Come on, I got to live vicariously through you so you have to show me everything you bought. Then we can eat chocolate and braid each other’s hair or some shit and talk about cute boys.»

Wynonna dragged her off leaving Nicole, who was carrying the majority of Waverly’s shopping, to catch up.

They had left Ancrapolis three days ago. Waverly’s anxiety had settled again now that she was safe within the steel hull of Purgatory and back to her normal routine with the people she was starting to know quite well.

Waverly closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair. She fished her necklace out from her shirt and clutched it in her fist. Inhaling the crisp ocean air she took the time to just enjoy warm rays of sunlight on her skin, the soft win in her hair and the gently movements of Purgatory beneath her feet. She stood like that for a long while, not counting the seconds as time passed her by.

Behind her Nicole and Doc was finishing up some maintenance on one of the massive guns on deck, talking amongst themselves as they moved methodically over it.

Waverly couldn’t help but think back to six weeks ago. That Waverly could never have imagined standing on the deck of this ship, her two abductors bantering behind her, and actually feeling relaxed and at peace.

Waverly glanced over her shoulder and saw that they were almost done. Nicole had poked her head and shoulders through a maintenance hatch near the base of the gun, while Doc stood on top of it, checking the barrel.

Waverly wandered over to them and leaned against the base. Nicole popped her head out to place a wrench down on the deck. Noticing Waverly standing there she smiled at her, those glorious dimples adorning her cheeks.

«Almost done» She said and Waverly noticed that there was a smidge of dirt on the side of her face.

«Take your time» She smiled back.

Nicole leaned into the maintenance hatch again, stretching both arms in as well. Her muscles strained as she pulled on something in there.

With her head still inside the maintenance hatch, Nicole reached out with her hand, trying to locate the wrench again. She tapped a few times around the general area she had left it on the deck, but was missing it entirely each.

Waverly crouched down, grabbed the wrench and placed it in Nicole’s hand. Nicole leaned back enough for Waverly to see the grateful smile on her face.

Nicole finished up inside the maintenance hatch, and put the panel back in place. Fastening the bolts was quick work with the power tool that was handed down to her from Doc.

Nicole let out a satisfied sigh as she lifted the hem of her shirt to wipe away the sweat on her forehead. The gunshot wound had healed nicely, now just another scar she could add to the collection.

«You’ve got some» Waverly said and gestured towards her own face to indicate where the smidge was.

Nicole’s hands were dirty from the dust and oil, so she tried using her shoulder to get it off. It didn’t quite work.

«Here, let me» Waverly placed one hand under Nicole’s jaw and used the other to wipe away the dirt.

In the corner of her eye she could see Nicole’s gaze flickering down towards her lips, back up again, then down at her lips again. Waverly couldn’t stop small smile that spread across her lips. Nicole’s cheeks turned pink and she immediately looked away, fastening her gaze on the deck.

«There we go» Waverly said and took a step back.

«Thanks» Nicole answered, before she cleared her throat and looked up at Doc. «You need any help up there?»

«I will be done in but a few minutes. Y’all can start packing up.» Doc called back.

«Alright»

Waverly helped her gather up the tools and pack them in their respective boxes. By the time they finished, Doc jumped down from the gun and the three of them carried the tools back to the workshop.

When they finished putting the tools back in their places, Doc bid his adieu and returned to the CIC while Nicole and Waverly headed to the officer’s hall.

«Just give me a few minutes to clean up, and we’ll head down.» Nicole said as she unlocked her door and stepped inside.

Waverly walked over to Wynonna’s door, used her key to open the door and entered the cabin. Wynonna had left the mattress on the floor; the blankets halfway on the floor. Waverly sighed internally and stepped over the mess her sister had left behind. Quickly she changed into her workout clothes.

Nicole had started training her three weeks ago. At first the workout regime was gruelling, but over the last three weeks she had grown to not only appreciate the workout itself, but also the effect they were having on her body. She was more steady on her feet and the slightly increased strength made the occasional heavy lifting in the Greenhouse easier. It might be her imagination, but she thought she had even started getting some definition to the muscles in her arms.

Since Nicole was still on the mend when their workout started, Waverly had mostly practised punching and kicking the punching bag. But Anna had given Nicole the all clear to start working out again, as long as she paced herself. Thus tonight was the first night that they were going to try sparring.

Waverly couldn’t decide if the butterflies in her stomach was because she was nervous that she would make a fool out of herself or because of the imminent close body contact.

«Are you sure?» Nicole asked hesitantly.

«Yes, I want to try it.»

«I might hurt you.»

«I trust you.»

Nicole rolled her shoulders before getting in position and she swung at Waverly. They had been training for a good hour. Nicole had taken them through the various moves slowly, giving Waverly time to get familiar with them. Now Waverly wanted to pick up the pace a bit.

The pace was definitely increased, but Waverly had seen how hard and fast the redhead could hit so she knew how much Nicole still was holding back.

Just like Nicole had taught her, Waverly pushed the arm away as she sidestepped.

«Good» Nicole praised her.

They continued sparring, Nicole swinging and kicking at a survivable pace, and Waverly blocking, dodging and jumping out of the way. That was until Nicole seemed to go left, only to feign the attack and swipe her feet out from under her, taking Waverly entirely by surprise. She landed on her back on the mat with a heavy thud. Before she even had time to blink before Nicole stood over her, her worry wrinkle clear between her brows.

«I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?»

Waverly shook her head and smiled, breathing heavily. «I almost had you there.»

The worry wrinkle was switched out for dimples as Nicole smiled with an arched eyebrow.

«How about you manage to stay on your feet for more than two minutes before you start boasting?»

«Just you wait» Waverly said and grabbed the hand Nicole reached out to her. «I will have my revenge.»

Nicole pulled her to her feet, her smile widening. «I’d like to see you try.»

They got in position and Waverly actually took Nicole by surprise by launching a series of blows first. None of the swings actually landed, but Nicole had to retreat back across the mat a few steps. They traded blows back and forth; moving at a pace where Waverly was still challenged, but at least had a chance at keeping pace.

Again, Nicole feigned going in one direction, then went in another. She grabbed Waverly and threw her to the ground, though she held on to her on the way down, so the impact wasn’t hard at all.

Waverly rolled onto her back, closed her eyes and took a moment to catch her breath.

When she opened her eyes, Nicole was leaning over her, a self-satisfied smirk on her face, hands on her hips.

«You were saying?»

Determined to wipe that satisfied smirk off her face, Waverly wrapped herself around Nicole’s leg and pushed forward with all her might, sending the redhead to the mat. Nicole groaned as she slammed into the ground.

Waverly froze. «You okay? Any pain?»

Nicole laughed. «No, I’m fine, but that really isn’t-»

«Good» Waverly quickly jumped up, positioning herself on Nicole’s chest, her knees pinning Nicole’s arms to the floor. It was a move Wynonna had used on her many times growing up.

«Hah!» Waverly barked victoriously.

Nicole just arched an eyebrow at her. «This isn’t even a viable move.»

«Yes, it is. Now tap out.»

«I refuse to tap out because of a move most people mastered in kindergarten.»

Waverly reached back and poked Nicole in the ribs, on the right side where she had no injuries. «I won, you gotta give up.»

«I could literally get out of this at anytime.»

Waverly poked her again. «Yield.»

One moment Nicole was looking up at her with an unimpressed expression. The only warning Waverly got that anything was about to change was the mischievous smile that spread across the redhead’s lips a split second before she moved.

Waverly only managed to yelp as Nicole flipped them over and with precise movements locked Waverly’s hips to the floor with a well placed knee and had her wrists locked together in an iron grip against Nicole’s chest.

That self-satisfied smirk was back on Nicole’s face in all its glory. «You can yield.»

Waverly tried her best to squirm out of Nicole’s grip as she laughed. «Never»

Nicole started laughing as well, mostly at Waverly’s futile attempts at getting out of her grip. Waverly, through bouts of laughter, finally managed to get one of her arms free, but Nicole shifted a bit and pinned her down more, again locking both of her arms to her chest.

«I won, you gotta give up.» Nicole laughed echoing Waverly's own words back at her.

Waverly suddenly became aware of how close they were. Nicole’s knee and thigh was pressed against her hips. Waverly’s arms were pinned between their bodies, Nicole’s hand was wrapped around her wrists. Their faces were inches apart. Waverly looked down at Nicole’s lips, they were slightly parted as she breathed heavily.

The last remnants of laughter faded from her lungs, and not quite knowing what possessed her to do so said: «Why don’t you make me?»

There was this moment. This breathless moment where Waverly lifted her gaze to find Nicole’s expression fall. It felt like it laster forever, this timeless moment where they just stared at each other.

«Hey, Haught-pants.» Nicole’s communicator sparked to life and filled the room with Wynonna’s voice.

The moment shattered in an instant. Nicole pulled back and released Waverly from her grip. She got up from the floor and jogged over to the communicator.

«What?» Nicole answered.

«Gonna need you to head out with a speeder. We’re getting some weirdass readings on the radar.»

«Copy.» Nicole motioned for Waverly to follow her as she pulled on her shirt and clasped her belt around her waist.

Waverly got up, grabbed her jacket and put it on.

«Anna cleared you for work right?» Wynonna asked over the communicator.

«Yeah» Nicole held the door open for Waverly to step through. «Jeremy pick anything up on sonar?»

Waverly walked ahead of Nicole through the cargo hold, and up the ladder.

«No, its too far out for him to get a proper reading. Dolls wants you to check it out to be sure.»

«I’ll be on the water in 3 minutes. Send the coordinates to Speeder two.» They walked down the hall, a bit ahead the hallway split off to a ladder that lead to the other floors and the hallway that continued on to the docking bay.

«I’ll send Waverly up to the bridge.»

Waverly felt a hand gently placed at the small of her back as Nicole pushed past her.

«You good to make your way from here?» She asked quietly.

«Yeah»

Nicole just nodded and started jogging down the hall.

«Nicole?»

She turned, stopping with one foot through the door, hand on the door frame.

«Be careful.» Waverly bit the inside of her cheek and tried to stop her hands from shaking.

Nicole flashed her a small smile, her dimples visible for a split second. «Always am.»

It was strange walking through the ship alone. The halls somehow felt smaller without the sure steps of Nicole following her.

She had walked from Wynonna’s room to Nicole’s late at night when Wynonna had been too drunk and the snoring had been too loud. It had become an unspoken agreement; Nicole would wake as Waverly opened the door. Nicole would move to make room for her in the cot as Waverly closed the door. Waverly would kick of her shoes and slip under the sheets and finally get some reprieve from the thunderous snoring in the other room. If Nicole’s arm had been wrapped around Waverly’s waist or Waverly had moved closer to Nicole; head resting on her shoulder, body curled against her side, they hadn’t commented on it.

So it wasn’t the first time she had walked through a hallway alone, but for the first time she was entirely alone as she made the climb up through the ship towards the bridge.

As she walked she tried not to let her mind wander to the worst possible scenarios. Last time Nicole had sped off on her own, she had been shot. Granted, this situation seemed to be entirely different. No alarms blaring or torpedoes being fired. That didn’t stop Waverly from worrying.

The bridge wasn’t lit up more than what was necessary. Nedley’s shift at the helm had ended an hour ago, so a woman Waverly had seen around the ship, but didn’t know the name of was at the helm.

Wynonna sat in the Pilot’s chair; Dolls’ usual chair. It was strange seeing the bridge without the Captain, he seemed to be a permanent fixture. Waverly supposed that even captains needed to sleep.

«Clamps released. Engines engaged.» Nicole’s voice came over the radio.

Her sister looked at her over a shoulder and motioned for her to sit down in the Controller’s chair before she said:

«Copy. Try not to get shot this time ‘round» into the radio.

Waverly wandered over, but didn’t sit down. Instead she leaned over the dashboard and tried to see the speeder. The quick vessel cut through the waves on the side of the ship and set a heading towards the Southwest.

«Try not to fall overboard like an idiot this time ‘round»

«Bite me, Haught.»

«Sorry, Earp, you’re not really my type.»

Wynonna placed her feet up on the dashboard, seemingly relaxed, but Waverly knew she was watching the radar like a hawk.

Waverly followed the speeder with her eyes for as long as she could see it. Then she sat down in the chair, folding one leg beneath her, hugging the other to her chest and resting her head on her knee. Her eyes were still fixed on the horizon, trying in vain to see the speeder.

«Here» Wynonna said, standing up and leaning over to the Controller’s dashboard. After pressing a few buttons one of the screens light up. There were a number of dots marked by a series of letters and numbers spread around the screen.

«That’s the tanker and escorts.» Wynonna pointed to the three dots clustered together in formation.

«Us» Pointing to the dot marked as ‘ **PRGTY481’**.

«And that there is Deputy Dipshit» pointing to the dot marked **‘PRGTY-SPR2’** which was surprisingly close to Purgatory given that the Speeder had faded from view a while ago «who is going there.» Her finger trailed a line across the screen to an unmarked spot on the screen.

«Is Dolls okay with me seeing this?» Waverly asked quietly.

«Dolls isn’t the boss bitch right now, I am. And I’m saying that you can.» Wynonna winked as she leaned back.

Waverly managed to force a smile as she looked back on the screen. For a moment, Waverly wondered if Nicole was standing still, but she realised the dot was slowly moving. 

«How far out is she going?»

Wynonna glanced over at Waverly’s screen. «Should take her about an hour with the speeder. Maybe a little less, Haught drives like a maniac when she’s alone.»

Waverly clenched her teeth together. Nicole was going far out. Too far away for the Purgatory to be of any help should anything happen. If it was a pirate trap, Nicole would be alone out there.

Waverly kept looking between the open ocean, the screen showing Nicole’s progress and the clock. It had been 43 minutes, and the speeder was now far out from Purgatory.

Each time Waverly looked back on the clock she was sure that more time had gone by, only to find that a minute or two had passed. It was excruciating.

Wynonna kept tapping her fingers on the armrest while keeping a watchful eye on the instruments on her side of the bridge. Her eyes flicked between instruments, screens and readings.

When half an hour had passed, Wynonna had ordered the helmsman, Hannah, to lower Purgatory’s speed a bit and adjust their course to run more adjacent with Nicole’s. The ship had continued on its original course, while the speeder had headed to the North. Nicole was now slightly behind them.

Waverly knew that the speeder could catch up even if Wynonna hadn’t done that, but it helped a little to know that they were not increasing the distance between themselves and Nicole, even if it was just by a fraction.

«Hey, Jer-bear?» Wynonna said into the radio. Waverly jumped a bit. She had been so focused on the screen in front of her she hadn’t noticed that Wynonna had picked up the radio.

«Yeah?» Jeremy answered.

«Pick up anything on sonar?»

«Nothing out of the ordinary.»

«If the sonar picks up so much as a fart, I want to know about it.» Wynonna put the radio down again and focused on the screens in front of her.

«Copy that.»

Waverly glanced over at her sister. «On a scale on 1 to that time I broke my arm in third grade, how worried are you about this?»

«Worried me? I’m not worried, who’s worried? I don’t know her.» Wynonna said rapidly, putting on an air of nonchalance.

«Wynonna»

Wynonna waved her hand dismissively. «It’s probably just trash or a dead whale or something.»

«But?»

Her sister glanced over at her. «But… It’s been too damn quiet.» Wynonna vigorously scratched the back of her head. «Like _way_ to quiet.»

«What do you mean?»

«Bobo and the Revenants. They were going batshit all over just a few weeks ago, and now suddenly they’ve just stopped. Not so much as a fucking robbery.»

«Isn’t that a good thing? Less people dying and all that?» Waverly frowned.

«Of course! But also, no. Bobo is planning something.» Wynonna let out a frustrated sigh.

Waverly didn’t say anything, her mind running amok with images of Nicole being killed or captured by pirates.

Wynonna pressed a few buttons and brought the radio back up. «How’re you doing there, Haught? See anything?»

«ETA at the coordinates 10 minutes. I’ve not seen anything yet. Looks empty out here.» Nicole answered back.

Waverly could feel herself tensing up even more.

«Nothing?» Wynonna frowned at the radar.

«Its just me out here so far. I’ll radio back when I get to the coordinates.» Nicole answered.

«If you see _anything_ you don’t like, you haul ass out of there immediately.»

«Aw, I didn’t know you cared.»

«I just don’t want to deal with having to buy another speeder if you’re blown out of the water.»

«Love you too, Earp.»

Wynonna just huffed.

The next ten minutes were the slowest of Waverly’s life. The dot moved closer and closer to the spot Wynonna had pointed out.

«Arriving at coordinates now.» The radio piped up, filling the bridge with Nicole’s voice. «Nothing’s here.»

Waverly let out a breath it felt like she had been holding for the last hour. She slumped back in her chair and covered her eyes with her hand.

Wynonna didn’t seem to share her deep sense of relief. «Nothing?»

«Its just me out here.» Nicole replied. «Whatever was here must have drifted away.»

Waverly could swear she heard her sister mutter: «Or already left…»

Into the radio Wynonna said: «Then get your ass in gear and get back here before my sister gets an ulcer.»

«Copy that, XO.»

Waverly stayed in the bridge, watching the dot on the screen until the Speeder returned to Purgatory safely.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but it kicks off a lot of shit in many ways. There is also a D&D-pitch in there, because everyone should play D&D in my opinion.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

* * *

«I’m going to crash.»

«You’re not gonna crash.»

«I promise you, I’m going to do something wrong and then we will crash.»

«There’s nothing to crash into.»

«Oh really? Because I quite clearly see land, oh and over there we have a whole base I could crash into. And one, two, three, four boats - no five boats I could crash into. And that’s not even mentioning all the ships»

Nicole laughed warmly. «Waverly, we’re not gonna get close enough to the other vessels for you to be able to hit anything before I can step in.»

The Speeder was still in the water, gently bobbing on the waves.

It had taken them two weeks to escort the tanker from Ancrapolis to Asunción; they had left the escort when it entered the Buenos Aires Inlet, and traveled north. Purgatory headed to the Ghost Triangle; BBD’s headquarters, to undergo maintenance and repairs, as well as getting new orders. The HQ was located in the Amazon Bay.

Since they could travel at a normal pace the trip had only taken them two days. Purgatory had sailed into Amazon Bay just a short hour ago. As soon as they could see the Ghost Triangle, Wynonna had deemed it safe enough Nicole to teach Waverly how to pilot the speeder. The docking process was going to be long and boring, and neither Waverly nor Nicole was vital to the process.

Nicole had taken them out of the main thoroughfare in and out of the Ghost Triangle to a section of the bay where the traffic was much lighter, before relinquishing the pilot’s chair to Waverly. She had gone over the basics and then told Waverly to start driving.

«But what if I break something?» Waverly looked at all the buttons and controls. She hardly knew what any for them did. 

«Waverly, if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. But I’ll be right here the entire time and talk you through it.» Nicole gave her a reassuring smile.

Waverly bit her lip nervously.

It wasn’t a bad idea to learn how to pilot a speeder. At the moment she was entirely at the mercy of everyone else when it came to any form of transportation. And if anything were to happen to the ship, the speeders were often deployed as a means of escape, and again Waverly would at the mercy of others when it came to piloting the speeder in that scenario.

Waverly closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. «Alright»

With renewed determination Waverly grabbed the steering wheel.

«We’ll start slow» Nicole said, as she fastened her grip on the handhold above her, steadying herself as she stood right next to Waverly ready to jump in should she need to.

«Just push the throttle out of neutral.»

Waverly carefully pushed it forward and the speeder’s engines started working before it slowly started propelling them forward.

«Give it a little more speed.»

Waverly swallowed heavily and pushed the throttle a bit more forward. The speeder picked up some speed, and Waverly’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the wheel.

«Now just drive around a bit, get a feel of how the boat moves.»

Waverly felt her heart race as she drove towards the floating superstructure that was the Ghost Triangle. When she felt she was getting too close, she turned the speeder around and pointed it towards one of the observation towers far out there in the water.

Slowly Waverly started getting a bit more comfortable. Nicole pointed out any boats she needed to be aware of, and told her how to either avoid them or signal to them where they were going. It was all pretty straight forward if she was being honest.

«You feel comfortable with a bit more speed?» Nicole asked.

Waverly took a few seconds and looked around her. There were no boats in the immediate vicinity. «Yeah»

«Okay, so bring the throttle up to here.» Nicole pointed about halfway down the throttle’s maximum reach. «When it builds up speed, the bow will rise. These two buttons here control the trim tabs, right and left. If you push the button down, the trim tabs go down, up - they go up. Now when the bow rises, you want to push the trim tabs down, that will make the boat plane flatter. Now when you pick up speed it is very important that you don’t oversteer. Compared to how much you needed to turn at low speeds, you only need to make minute movements at high speed.»

Waverly nodded as Nicole explained.

«I’ll be right here, it’ll be fine.» Nicole finished and grabbed onto the back of Waverly’s chair again.

Waverly mentally went over everything Nicole had told her one more time before she pushed the throttle further down. The engines started whining and the speeder began picking up speed. Waverly carefully pressed the buttons to adjust the trim tabs.

«A bit more.» She had to speak quite loudly to speak over the sound of the engine and the wind outside. Nicole watched as Waverly adjusted, and when the speeder had planed flatter went: «Perfect.» 

Waverly expected to be more nervous, and by all means she was, but as the speeder raced over the waves a new feeling spread through her body; exhilaration. 

At the slightest turn of the wheel, the speeder changed direction and the pull of the turn gave her a tickling feeling. There was something about piloting this fast moving vehicle that made her giddy.

Waverly thought back to Wynonna’s maniacal laughter when she piloted Purgatory during Waverly’s first turbo, and suddenly had a better understanding of why it made her sister feel that way.

A massive smile spread across her face as she drove the speeder in big circles, feeling the boat skip across the waves. Beside her Nicole smiled just as widely and laughed at Waverly’s childlike joy at the new experience.

«Head for the outside of the towers!» Nicole shouted over the engine.

Waverly turned the speeder and pointed the bow a little left of the massive communication tower far out there on the water.

«Can I give it a bit more speed?» Waverly shouted back excitedly.

«Go ahead!» Nicole grinned.

Waverly pushed the throttle a bit more forward, still not reaching the speeder’s full potential, but it roared into action none the less and raced forward even faster. In a matter of minutes they shot past the tower and out into more open water. There were no other boats or ships on this side of the waters.

«Want to try full speed?»

The adrenaline coursed through Waverly’s body and the prospect of even more speed and even more adrenaline was too tempting not to accept.

«Yes!»

«Alright, stand up, or your back is gonna kill you!» Nicole shouted.

Waverly stood up, feeling the seat of the chair pressing against the back of her thighs, providing extra support.

«If we hit bigger waves, hold onto this with one hand!» Nicole pointed to the handhold next to the steering wheel.

«Okay!»

«Ready when you are!» Nicole shifted a bit; widening her stance and adjusting her grip.

Waverly’s hands shook as she reached forward to push the throttle to full. It clicked as it was now flush with the rest of the dashboard.

The speeder’s engines roared to life as they shot across the surface. Nicole reached forward and adjusted the trim tabs a bit more, which only increased the speed further.

Waverly couldn’t contain the squeal of joy as the speeder skipped of a bigger wave and for a moment felt like it was flying through the air, before the bow cut through the next wave and continued through the water. Her exclamations of joy mixed with Nicole’s warm laugh as the same thing happened again and again.

Waverly had never felt this wild and free. Every care, every anxiety, all the stress she had carried in her shoulders for most of her life melted away under the adrenaline and the pure power currently under her control.

She glanced over at Nicole and felt heat spread through her chest at the pure joy she saw on the redhead’s face. Nicole flashed her a bright smile, her dimples framing it, before her brown eyes returned to scan the ocean ahead of them.

«Hey! Tater-Haught! I said teach her to drive the speeder, not turn her into a speed junkie.» The Speeder’s radio piped up, transmitting Wynonna’s voice.

Nicole released her grip on the chair behind Waverly and picked up the radio. «Don’t diss my teaching methods, Earp.»

«Then teach her something useful, like docking for example, dum-dum.»

«How about you focus on not crashing Purgatory into the Ghost Triangle, and I’ll manage the tutoring?»

«Some of us are actually capable of multitasking, red.» Wynonna said.

Right at the tail-end of her transmission both of them could clearly hear Dolls’ voice go: «Earp! Focus!»

Nicole rolled her eyes affectionately and placed the radio back in the holder.

«I will teach you how to dock, but keep joyriding for a bit more.» Nicole shouted over the engine. «It’ll annoy the shit out of her.»

The Ghost Triangle consisted of three big bases that were connected by big steel walkways. All in all it could house over 8 000 people.

The amount of people who actually lived full-time on the Ghost Triangle was way below that, but since it was the Head Quarters for BBD there were thousands of people here at all times. One of the bases was purely used as BBD offices, meeting rooms and training facilities, while the other two bases offered a variety of housing, commerce and recreation.

Nicole had told Waverly that there was a higher than normal amount of ships docked at the Ghost Triangle at the moment. Since long range communication was limited, half of BBD’s ships gathered once each six months to share knowledge, strategise and receive new orders. In a few weeks the other half of BBD’s fleet was scheduled to meet up.

Purgatory was docked at one of the residential areas. They had arrived a day later than everyone else, so «We got the shitty parking space» Wynonna had said. Basically it meant that Wynonna and Dolls had to either walk or take a speeder over to the main BBD base for meetings every day.

After Nicole had started the process of teaching Waverly to dock and they had practised out by the observation towers a few times, they had returned to Purgatory when the sun had started setting. Waverly much preferred just cruising around in the Speeder to actually docking it, but she was starting to get the hang of that too. Soon she would have to try it while actually being around other boats, but that lesson would have to wait for another day.

Waverly headed down to the Greenhouse to finish up the day’s work. Nicole had grabbed the inventory list she had made a few days ago and was currently preparing a resupply list. They worked around each other in comfortable silence. In truth, it was no longer required for Nicole to follow Waverly around the ship anymore. After Waverly’s first lonesome walk through the ship two weeks ago, Dolls had agreed with Wynonna and Nicole’s assessment that Waverly could be trusted to move around on her own.

It had been quite freeing at first; being able to move when you wanted, going to the bathroom or showers without Nicole or Wynonna dutifully, but awkwardly, waiting in the hallway or locker room. Being able to leave or arrive at the game nights they would have with Jeremy and Chrissy when she wanted without ruining anyone’s fun. Not that Waverly had done that yet, she and Nicole were usually the last to leave, but it was nice to know she could if she wanted to. Dolls had even given her a communicator so she could reach the rest of the crew when she wanted or needed to.

Nicole had returned to the duties she had before Waverly’s arrival. Which to be honest, wasn’t much different, they just no longer included Waverly being there every step of the way.

Her absence really made Waverly feel how used she had gotten to having the redhead around. The rooms felt emptier, and occasionally Waverly would being saying something excitedly only to remember that she was alone in the Greenhouse.

It hadn’t taken many days before there had been a knock on the Greenhouse door and Nicole had asked if she could finish some of her work in there. And so the routine had evolved; they would spend more time apart, but whenever Nicole could she would bring her work into the Greenhouse.

Waverly cleaned the tools as she finished with them. The herbs had been cut and put in small steel containers that were neatly set up on one of the workbenches, ready to be delivered to the galley.

Her communicator piped up. «Little Earp! Is Nicole with you?» Chrissy asked cheerfully, her voice slightly distorted by the communicator. Nicole looked up from her papers.

Waverly quickly dried her hands and picked it up to respond: «Yeah. What’s up, Little Nedley?»

«Ugh, I hate it when you call me that. Anyway, Jeremy and I was thinking about blowing this joint and go get a drink on-base, the two of you in?»

«You want to?» Nicole asked quietly. She had opened another button on her shirt so that she could stick her hand in to absentmindedly massage her shoulder as she read.

Though Waverly could feel her anxiety rearing its ugly head, the prospect of having drinks with her three new friends was too exciting to pass up.

Besides, they were in BBD’s headquarters. If the crew of Purgatory set an example for the rest of BBD, this was possibly the safest place she could test the waters of being out and about in this new world she was discovering.

«Yeah, could be fun.» Waverly smiled bravely.

«Then I’m game.»

Waverly brought the communicator to her lips. «Yeah, that would be fun.»

The bar they had gone to was small and cozy. It had pleasant music as opposed to the loud thumping music Waverly had heard through the walls of other places they had passed on the way here. There were booths along the walls, and more tables out on the floor. It hadn’t been as full when they arrived, but now it seemed like every table and chair in the establishment was full. The noise level was quite high, luckily the booth helped dampen it somewhat.

Despite this Waverly felt relatively safe, sandwiched between Nicole and Jeremy, with her back towards the wall and a good overview of the establishment. The liquid courage helped as well.

«And then we’ll go on big adventures and have dramatic scenes, it would be epic. And a really great addition to game night.» Jeremy leaned forward, his eyes wide as he excitedly finished explaining.

Chrissy narrowed her eyes at him. «Let me get this straight. You want us to play a game where we imagine that we’re elves and gnomes and that we can do magic? And whenever we want to do something, we have to roll a dice?»

«The rolling of the dice is the most exciting part! Everything is up to chance. Well, chance and our own creativity. Trust me, it’ll be awesome. The only limit would be our own imagination!» Jeremy assured her.

«I don’t know. I don’t get it.» Chrissy frowned.

«Waverly, Nicole, back me up here. Doesn’t it sound awesome?» Jeremy laid his chest down on the table top, almost knocking his wine over as his plea for back-up manifested itself physically.

«It does sound a bit interesting.» Waverly answered honestly.

Nicole finished her beer and stood up. «How about the three of you battle out wether or not we play that the next game night, and I’ll get us more drinks?»

Chrissy and Jeremy agreed immediately, and Waverly nodded her thanks. Nicole headed for the bar.

Chrissy ran a finger over her nose, brows furrowed as she tried to wrap her head around the concept. «So we just make up who we want to be?»

«Yeah! You can be anyone you want to. You can be a rugged half-elven ranger who wants to take revenge at society for destroying nature, or a high and mighty elf wizard who wants to unlock the secrets of the universe.» Jeremy gesticulated wildly as he explained, shooting imaginary bows and casting imaginary spells.

«But we make it all up in our heads? We’re not actually gonna be running around pretending to do all that?»

«No! It’ll all be in our minds. Like I can run the game and spin the story, and the three of you can-» He suddenly cut himself off, something over at the bar caught his attention and made him frown. «Didn’t the two of them argue?»

Waverly followed his gaze and looked over at the bar just in time to see Nicole pull back from hugging another women. The other woman was absolutely stunning; her skin light brown, her hair was long and black. The two smiled at each other as they switched between turning their head so the other could speak into their ear so they could hear each other over the noise in the bar.

«No, we met them when we docked in Bahia a few months ago, remember? They’ve made up, don’t know if they’re _back on_. But at least they’re friendly again.» Chrissy said as she too looked over at Nicole and the other woman.

Before Waverly could stop herself, she asked: «Who is she?»

«Shae Pressman» Jeremy began. «She’s the doctor over on the Neptuno. Super smart, it’s insane.»

Nicole leaned closer to Shea's ear to say something. Waverly clenched her teeth so tightly it was painful.

«She and Nicole used to bump uglies whenever they were in the same port.»

Shea laughed at what Nicole said. As she did so, she placed her hand on Nicole’s arm. Waverly felt like her entire chest was on fire as Nicole turned her head so that Shea could say something back.

«Last I heard they had some big argument. Can’t remember why.»

Nicole’s eyes met Waverly’s for a split second, and Waverly immediately turned away. She stared at her own empty glass, which she was clutching so hard it might break.

«But seems they’ve made up so maybe they’ll take a quick trip to pound - Ow! What was that for?» Jeremy exclaimed as Chrissy elbowed him in the side.

In an instance Waverly became painfully aware of just how visible her jealousy was to everyone else. Before Jeremy or Chrissy could say anything, Waverly cleared her throat and stood up.

«I’m kinda tired. I’m going to head back to the ship.» She was walking away before they could respond.

The night air felt way too clammy against her skin as she pushed the door open and stepped out of the bar. There in the distance she could see Purgatory, light up by the lights down at the dock. She started walking in that direction as fast as she could.

The door behind her slammed open.

«Waverly, wait!» Nicole’s voice echoed down the empty street as she jogged to catch up with her.

Waverly ignored her and kept walking. It didn’t take Nicole’s long legs to catch up with her and wrap a gentle hand around her arm to stop her. «Where are you going?»

Waverly’s refused to look at Nicole. Jealousy and embarrassment fought each other inside her chest and the inner turmoil made her eyes water. «I’m tired. I’m going back to the ship.»

Nicole tilted her head down slightly, trying to make eye contact with her. «Okay, let me walk you back.»

«I am an adult. I don’t need you to lead me by the hand everywhere.»

Nicole instinctively took a step back. «I know.»

«I am capable of walking back to the ship on my own!»

«Waverly, I know. I just-» Nicole took a deep breath, as she glanced at the bar then back at Waverly. «She’s not - We’re not… Shea and I are just friends.»

Waverly held up her hands and started walking again. «Yeah, sure. You don’t owe me an explanation, you can be with whoever you want.»

Nicole grabbed her arm again and stopped her. «I don’t want her, I want-» She slammed her mouth shut, cutting herself off.

Waverly finally looked at her. «Me…» She finished for her.

Now it was Nicole’s turn to refuse to look at Waverly. Her eyes were closed, mouth drawn into a thin line. She let out a slow breath as she nodded.

Waverly frowned. «Why are you acting like that is a bad thing?»

«Because, it's complicated.»

«How?»

«Fuck, it’s» Nicole ran her hand through her hair as she lifted her gaze to meet Waverly’s. «Isn’t there some power imbalance here?» She motioned between them. «Or maybe not power imbalance but-»

«But what?» Waverly demanded.

«Waves, all I want is for you to be happy and safe. And it’s clear that you’re starting to feel safe on Purgatory, with us. I don’t want to fuck that up.»

«How is _this_ gonna fuck that up?»

«What if it doesn’t work? And you’ll not only have to deal with everything else, but also have to dance around me every hour of every day?»

Waverly shook her head a few times rapidly. «Then I’ll deal with it. I can handle things you know, I’m not gonna break.»

«I know that, I know!»

«If you don’t want this, you don’t need to come up with excuses-»

«I’m scared, okay?»

«Of what?»

Nicole rubbed her forehead as she tried to find the words. «It’s not uncommon for… For people in your situation to form an intense connection to the people who… saved them - Fuck no that’s wrong. To the people who helped them. You were terrified when you came aboard, and I was the first person you started to trust. I’m terrified that what you feel isn’t really real.»

Waverly’s expression fell and her entire body went cold. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around herself.

«I know my own heart, Nicole.» She said quietly.

Nicole looked up at her as she bit her lower lip. She opened her mouth to say something but didn’t get that far before the building behind her exploded.

Waverly was slammed back against the wall a few feet behind her and her entire world went black.

Her entire body hurt, and she would feel blood run down the side of her face. Her entire world was shaking - no, not shaking. Someone was carrying her and they were running.

Waverly forced her eyes open and saw the world upside down, and the world she saw was on fire. Jeremy and Chrissy were right behind them, both covered in dust and soot. Jeremy had Chrissy’s arm over his shoulder and did most of the running for her as she limped down the street, doing her best to keep up.

Waverly could faintly hear Nicole shouting something, but couldn't catch what she was actually saying. She realised that she was being carried in a fireman’s cradle by Nicole. Further up the street behind them something hit a building and the entire structure was ripped apart at its seams as the missile detonated.

The Ghost Triangle was under attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ops, I did it again, didn't I? What can I say? I lurves me a cliffhanger.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Waverly was never going to have a very central role in all of this action (at least not yet), we're going to do things a bit differently for this chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.
> 
> WARNING!: This chapter doesn't necessarily depict that much violence, but they are being bombed to oblivion and there are descriptions of dead bodies and dying in this chapter.

* * *

**WYNONNA:**

The first thing Wynonna noticed was an intense headache and the loud ringing in her ears. _What the fuck did I drink last night?_

No, this was not a hangover. Her hangovers were fucking murderous, but this was not it. This was worse.

There was a dull aching in her entire body and she could feel blood running out of her left ear. Something heavy was resting atop her legs, making it hard for her to move though she didn’t think they were broken. Her left knee hurt like a bitch, but it was not broken. 

She opened her eyes but her vision was all blurry. Wynonna grimaced as she focused as much as she could on regaining both her vision and hearing.

Whatever was on her legs was lifted off her and someone grabbed her shoulders to turn her around.

Her blurry vision was slowly returning to normal and as she was turned around and her shoulders lifted off the ground she could see that it was Dolls.

_Oh, you’ve got such a pretty face. Like a super sexy little dragon._

Wait, had she said that out loud?

_Focus, Wynonna!_

She frowned as Dolls shouted something at her. His super sexy little dragon face was all wrong; he was covered in dust, blood and soot. Where had all of that come from?

They had been in a super boring meeting with the BBD brass, talking about fiscal years and upgrading the coastline warning systems and other things that bored Wynonna beyond belief.

Admiral Lucado had been droning on endlessly, when… when…

A jolt went through Wynonna as the world suddenly came into focus and she remembered the sudden explosion that had shaken the entire BDD base. A loud alarm was screaming in the background, signalling everyone to man their battle stations and return to ship.

The room had been blown to pieces; chairs and tables were ripped apart and thrown around the room, electrical sparks sometimes jumped from the cables that hung from the decimated roof half of which seemed to be on the floor.

Wynonna moved her eyes around rapidly, landing on Lucado’s broken body that had been impaled by a massive piece of glass. Around them, those who had survived the initial blast, started freeing themselves and each other from the rubble. Wynonna realised that the majority of BBD’s top management had died in the first explosion.

«Wynonna!» Dolls shouted.

Wynonna let herself panic for exactly two seconds. She had fucking known. She had _known_ Bobo was planning something massive. And now she realised the fucking bastard was attacking the Ghost Triangle.

«Waverly!» Wynonna shot up from the floor and reached for her communicator. It wasn’t there. She dropped down on her knees again and desperately searched through the rubble where she had woken up.

In the corner of her eye Wynonna could see Eliza Shapiro, Captain of the Vannlilje. Her normally blonde hair was almost brown from the dirt and blood.

«How the hell did they get close enough to fire at the base without us knowing?!» She shouted angrily, her normally mild Scandinavian accent much heavier than usual. She spit out some blood for good measure.

In the distance several other detonations made the entire base shake. A big piece of the roof fell down in the corner. When the shaking subsided a bit, Dolls leaned down and checked the pulse of someone who was laying with their back turned to Wynonna.

«I don’t know. But we have to return to ship immediately.» He said. For a moment he hung his head as he found no pulse.

«Dolls! Captain?!» Nedley’s voice roared over Dolls’ communicator.

«We’re alive. Start undocking immediately and prepare the engine for Turbo. How many of the crew stepped ashore?» Dolls responded as he stood up.

Wynonna tried getting up to grab Dolls’ communicator, but her knee gave out under her. Instead she shouted: «Where is Waverly?» at him.

«More than half» Nedley responded. «Starting undocking process.»

Eliza tried to shoulder the door open, but something on the other side was blocking it. 

«Looks like we’re climbing.» She growled, her face still contorted in anger and rage.

Dolls changed his communicator to transmit to all of Purgatory’s crew. «Attention all Purgatory crew. Return to ship immediately. You have two minutes until Purgatory undocks.»

Wynonna had gotten up and ran over to him. Before he could remove his finger from the transmitter-button, she clasped her hands around his.

«Waverly? Where are you?»

Dolls freed himself from her grip, but let her hold onto the communicator as he moved over to where there once had been a window, and now was just a massive gaping hole facing the dark ocean outside.

Wynonna stared desperately at the communicator. When she didn’t get an immediate reply she pressed the transmitter again:

«Waverly? Nicole? Where the fuck are you?»

For a few timeless seconds she just stared at the communicator before it screeched.

Nicole’s voice was strained and she was breathing heavily. «I’ve got her. Get back to the ship, Wynonna!»

«Is she hurt?» Wynonna could hear the desperation in her own voice, but didn’t even care that it was being transmitted to every single crew member on Purgatory.

Another slight pause.

«She’s alive. Get back to the fucking ship, Earp!»

In the background Wynonna could hear another explosion through the radio. It sounded too close for comfort.

«Trust me.» Nicole said before she ended the communication.

«Fuck!» Wynonna screamed.

«Wynonna! Come on.» Dolls shouted from the gaping hole in the wall.

Wynonna wiped away a stubborn tear that had escaped and hung the communicator in her own belt, then ran over to Dolls and Eliza. As the two captains jumped down onto the next level below them, Wynonna looked out on the mouth of Amazon Bay.

Her knees threatened to buckle underneath her as she saw the armada of Revenant ships on the horizon. Bobo must have brought his entire fleet. _Motherfucker. I am going to find you, kill you and mount your head on the bow of Purgatory._

Finally, the Ghost Triangle had managed to collect itself and the first missiles were being fired back at the armada.

Wynonna couldn’t think about that. Until she was back on Purgatory she was a tiny mouse in a battle between titans. She jumped down after Dolls and Eliza.

The main base of BBD was a bulky construction; each level rising up to the top level like steps. The three officers ran over roofs and jumped down to different levels as missiles flew back and forth over them. They had managed to make their way to the back of the main base, and Wynonna caught a glimpse of the other two bases; both of them were in flames.

Ships and boats had already started undocking and were lining up to fire back. In the middle of the Triangle Wynonna saw the Aurora; the BBD flagship, a sleek modern dreadnaught. It was already sinking. The black outer hull had been ripped open by a massive explosion and the water was rushing into the heart of the ship.

A station wide message was transmitted to every single speaker, radio and communicator.

**«Abandon Base. All ships and crew, abandon base.»**

They got to the lower levels, where the structure was move even and straight. They were still a good hundred feet above sea level. Eliza and Dolls shared a look that made Wynonna’s stomach churn.

«Fastest way down?» Eliza said.

Dolls nodded and grabbed Wynonna’s arm.

«Fucking noooooooo» Was all Wynonna could shout before Dolls pulled her with him as he jumped off the building and into the water.

Wynonna streamlined her body as much as she could but it still hurt like a fucking bitch as she splashed into the water. Kicking as hard as she could, she resurfaced.

A couple of dozen feet to their right was the dock where the Vannlilje had shored up. It almost finished with their undocking and luckily the ship was intact.

The speeder Wynonna and Dolls had driven here earlier in the day was docked there as well. By some goddamned miracle it was still intact.

The officers swam as quickly as they could over to the dock. Dolls got up first and reached out both his hands for Eliza and Wynonna. Eliza ignored him, but Wynonna was more than happy the let him help pull her out of the water he pushed her into.

Eliza started sprinting down the dock towards her ship.

«Give them hell, Dolls!» She shouted over her shoulder.

«Give them hell!» he shouted back as he pulled Wynonna onto the dock, then ran for the speeder.

Wynonna followed suit. She pulled her knife and just cut the ropes mooring the speeder. She kicked off from the dock when she climbed into the speeder, making it drift a few feet out from the dock.

When Wynonna ran into the wheelhouse, Dolls had already started the boat and was shouting into the radio.

«Purgatory, what’s your status?»

The Speeder’s engine rumbled as Wynonna started the navigation system and slapped the screen when she didn’t feel like it was booting fast enough.

«We’re undocked. Don’t have a headcount for the crew, but we are in general quarters. I’m lacking a navigator, but I can manage.»

«We are making our way over to you now, start heading out of the bay.»

«Copy.»

Finally the nav system came online and Wynonna quickly plotted a path from the speeder to Purgatory. Dolls pushed the throttle forward and the boat screamed into action.

Wynonna brought out her communicator and opened a direct line to Nicole.

«Haught, please tell me you made it back to the ship.» She pressed the communicator to her forehead as she waited for a response.

As the communicator opened the line for Nicole’s response, Wynonna could hear the familiar alarms of Purgatory’s call to general quarters in the background.

«Anna’s got her.» 

For a second Wynonna let herself feel the massive relief course through her body, then the speeder tipped dangerously as Dolls turned abruptly to dodge the detonation of a torpedo and Wynonna focused back on making sure that the two of them made it back to the ship.

The world around them was descending into chaos. Dolls dodged other ships, missile detonations and falling pieces from the BBD structure. A deafening screech came from the main base and the super structure collapsed in on itself after being hit by multiple missiles in order.

Wynonna reminded herself to thank whatever angels watched over them on their journey across the chaotic bay. Finally purgatory came into view. It looked unharmed.

«Speeder to Purgatory. We have visual. Open docking bay doors.» Dolls said into the radio as he started to align the speeder with the ship.

«Copy, opening bay doors. Intercept speed 13 knots.» Nedley responded.

«Copy, intercept speed 13 knots.»

Dolls decreased the speed at the last moment and the speeder knocked against the dock inside the ship, but both vessels were intact.

«Speeder docked. Close doors now!» Dolls shouted into the radio.

Wynonna was already starting the program for the robotic arm to put the speeder back on the rails.

«Closing bay doors.»

Both of them scrambled out of the speeder. Dolls threw open the bulkhead and when they were through, closed it shut again. Wynonna started down the hallway and scrambled up the ladder. Dolls had no issue catching up with her.

But instead of running towards the bridge, Wynonna started towards the sickbay. Dolls grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

«Earp!»

«I’ve got to see her!» Wynonna shouted back.

Dolls’ expression softened for a moment as he grabbed her arms with both hands.

«The best way for you to ensure Waverly’s safety is to come to the bridge and do your job. If this ship sinks were all dead.»

Wynonna wanted to protest, she wanted to tear free from his grip and run to make sure that her baby sister was alright. But instead she nodded her head once. Dolls mimicked the motion, let her go and climbed up the stairs.

They entered the bridge. Eric was fastening the turbo support behind Nedley, while Nicole was doing her best to do both the CO’s and the XO’s job at the dashboard.

As soon as the officers entered, she stepped back to give them room to man their stations.

Dolls headed over immediately and sprang into action. Wynonna did the same. She slid into her chair and checked the radar. It was almost impossible to differentiate between all the ships that dotted the radar, so instead she focused on the navigation screen.

She watched as the identification tag of three ships across the bay disappeared, signalling that they had sunk. She couldn’t think about that now.

She adjusted the radar so that it could see further out; they had turned it down while in port so that their radar wouldn’t disturb the Ghost Triangle’s systems. An obvious mistake.

As the radar refocused, she saw the thick line of revenant ships. Her eyes scanned the screen to find any weak point. They needed to get the fuck out of here.

«Dolls, the right flank looks the weakest.»

Dolls nodded and switched the radio to broadcast to the bridge of every other BBD ship in the bay.

«Focus fire on the right side. Punch a hole through their line then turbo out of here. We need to regroup further south.»

One after one the ships around them started responding, agreeing with Dolls’ assessment.

Another captain speaking with a thick Portuguese accent whose voice Wynonna didn’t recognise said: «I suggest shield formation. Us dreadnoughts are too slow to make it out of here. So let us give those who can the best chance possible.»

There was a slight pause before several captains started responding with «Aye.»

Wynonna knew it was the best plan, the massive Dreadnaughts would work as a shield for the smaller and more manoeuvrable frigates and destroyers to get out, still it sent a shiver down her spine. As much as she wanted to just charge Bobo and the Revenants head on, she knew it was a losing battle. They had to lose the battle so they had a chance at winning the war.

Dolls solemnly brought the radio up to his lips. «It has been an honour serving with you all. Godspeed.»

The radio bubbled over with various forms of: «It’s been an honour», «We’ll see you all in hell» and «Godspeed» as the dreadnaught charged forward, firing their missiles and torpedos focused on the right flank of the Revenant armada.

«CO to CIC» Dolls said over the intercom.

«CIC responding»

«Focus fire on right flank. Punch a hole through the line.»

«Copy, focusing fire on right flank.» Doc responded.

The hissing and slight shaking of the ship as the canons and torpedos were fired at in rapid succession vibrated through the ship.

«Attention crew. Strap in for turbo. As soon as we’re in the clear we will jump to turbo. There might not be time for any warnings. I repeat strap in for turbo.»

Nicole finished helping Eric secure Nedley.

«We’ll head down to the sickbay and help the wounded strap in.» Nicole said as she tapped Eric’s shoulder so that he would follow her.

Dolls looked over his shoulder at them. «Copy that, chief. Make it quick.»

Nicole nodded before she and Eric darted out of the bridge, closing the bulkhead behind them.

Wynonna put herself on autopilot as she called out what she saw on the navigator and radio to Dolls.

The right flank of the Revenants ships crumbled under the focused fire of the surviving BBD ships, as well as the missiles being fired from whatever remained of the Ghost Triangle bases by brave souls who had chosen to stay behind and man their stations to try and help others escape.

She ignored the need to scream and cry as she saw the ships of people she had served with being ripped apart by torpedos and missiles.

The right Revenant flank fell, the ships sinking rapidly. The first BBD vessels shot into turbo and made it out as some of dreadnoughts started sinking; firing their last torpedoes in a desperate attempt to ensure the others survival.

In front of them, a ship named The Seahag was hit by a torpedo just as it entered turbo. The combined forces of the detonation that tore open the hull causing water to start pouring in and the g-forces of turbo ripped the ship apart, leaving only chucks of warped metal and bodies scattered across the ocean surface.

Behind them another ship’s bridge was hit by a missile and unable to pilot the ship, crashed into a dreadnaught that was sinking into the depths below.

A ways ahead the Vannlilje got clear and popped their turbo, racing across the ocean leaving only sea mist and massive waves in its wake.

Wynonna checked that her harness was on securely as Nedley steered out of the way of the debris field. Metal could carve through their hull like a warm knife through butter if they hit it at turbo speeds.

Finally they were free of the debris field and Dolls picked up the radio:

«Engaging Turbo in three, two, one.»

The shriek of Turbo deafened her as they raced away from the Ghost Triangle, once the pride and glory of the Bermuda Border Division, now just a burning hunk of metal that was sinking into the ocean.

They had lost 26 of Purgatory’s original crew of 90. Wynonna had known some of them better than others, but no matter how you view it; when you’re on a ship every bastard onboard becomes your family. Purgatory’s corridors were going to feel a lot emptier.

Out of the 187 ships that had gathered at the Ghost Triangle, 21 had made it out. Thousands of people were dead and BBD was in shambles. They had gone as far as they could with the Turbo they had, then headed full speed south again joining up with the Vannlilje and the other ships.

The Seahawk, the quickest ship of those that had survived, had been sent ahead to warn the entire coast of what had happened.

They had sailed for over an hour, but no Revenant ships had followed. They were probably feating on their spoils.

Wynonna fucking hated retreating, and she had told Dolls loudly. It was about that time he had ordered her from the bridge and to get some sleep. Of course Wynonna wasn’t going to do any of that. She was going to get out of these drenched clothes, and then check up on Waverly.

Much to her surprise she found Waverly already laying on her side in the cot in the cabin.

She took a moment and just looked at her. She looked unharmed, except for the cut on her jaw that had been covered by a bandage. Wynonna swallowed heavily to stop herself from crying. She was not going to cry.

Waverly shifted and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes were red and puffy. They didn’t need to say anything to each other. Sisterly intuition told them everything they needed to know about what the other was feeling. Waverly turned back again to face the wall.

Wynonna quickly changed into new clothes, then she walked over the mattress to the cot and laid down on the cot with Waverly. She wrapped her arms around Waverly and buried her nose in her hair. After everything that happened today she needed to remember why she was fighting.

Her mind drifted back to the night they had first arrived in Philadelphia. Gus hadn’t had time to get them their own beds, so they had to share the single bed in her guest room. Waverly had been so little, and Wynonna had just killed their… Waverly would only fall asleep if Wynonna held her like this. That adorable little baby girl. Wynonna had promised herself that night that she would never let anything happen to her.

Had she made the right choice? Was Waverly really safer here?

«I’m so sorry for… for all of this, baby girl. I am so sorry I brought you here and that daddy brought this on us.» Wynonna whispered into her hair.

Waverly wrapped her hand around her arm and squeezed gently.

«There is nowhere else I’d rather be, Wynonna.»

They were gathered on the Bridge; Dolls, Doc, Nicole and herself. Eliza and the other captains were listening in on the radio.

It hadn’t surprised Wynonna that once BBD command was in shambles, these Captains turned to Dolls for guidance. The man was unshakable.

«First things first, we need to regroup and warn the rest of the fleet. Then we can start planning how to strike back.»

«Rebuilding the fleet will take years.» Eliza said, her voice slightly distorted over the radio. «We don’t have that time.»

«And we have to consider that there are snakes in the grass.» Captain Ramon Quinn of the Neptuno said.

«What do you mean?» Doc asked.

«He means that the Revenants would never have gotten close enough to surprise us if there weren’t traitors inside BBD.» Dolls finished for Quinn, who gave an affirmative grunt over the radio.

«So we not only have to rebuild the fleet, we also have to clean up our ranks. Great.» Eliza muttered.

Wynonna had been standing with her back to the rest of the table, fiddling with the handle of her gun. Now she turned to face the rest of the table.

«Not if we cut the head of the snake. Bobo is the only thing keeping the Revenants together. Without him they’ll start fighting amongst themselves and then we can sweep in and take out the rest of them.» She rested her hands on the table and looked at her fellow officers. «We have to take him out.»

«We’re never gonna get close enough to take him out.» Dolls said. «We need stealth tech for that. We don’t have that kind of technology and we don’t have the resources to research it.»

Nicole had stood with her arms crossed, quietly watching the conversation. Now she leaned slightly forward:

«The Alliance does.»

Doc scoffed. «As if the Alliance would be so kind as to lend us their clandestine stealth technology.»

«I never said anything about lend.» Nicole rubbed her jaw for a moment, then waved a bit in the air. «You find me an Alliance ship, and I’ll sneak onboard and steal a stealth transmitter.»

There was a moment of complete silence around the room.

«You’re not going alone. No fucking way!» Wynonna clenched her jaw.

«Oh, you suddenly know an Alliance destroyer like the back of your hand? Or know how to remove a stealth transmitter from the engine?»

«I can fucking learn, I am great at learning. I’ll be Hermione Granger all up in this shit.»

«We don’t have that time. Besides, you’re the one we send in when we need a battering ram, right now we need a scalpel.» Nicole gave a half shrug; mostly serious, but Wynonna could see the underlying jab at her modus operandi.

«I can be a scalpel, look at me go, I’ll cut a bitch.» Wynonna retorted.

«Wynonna» Dolls began. «Nicole is right. If we are to do this, we need finesse.»

«Besides, going in solo will give me a better chance of success. And if I fail, it won’t be as hard to find a new security chief as it would be to find a new XO.» Nicole said matter-of-factly.

«Fuck that!»

«Wynonna!» Dolls barked. Wynonna glared at him for a moment, then pretended to lock her mouth with a key, signalling she was shutting up now.

Dolls turned to Nicole: «You think you can do this?»

Nicole gave a curt nod. «Find me an Alliance ship and I will get you that transmitter.»

Eliza piped up: «The rest of us can head off to Asunción and regroup. We need to find a place to dry dock Purgatory for the retrofitting. A stealth… transmitter or whatever you called it won’t be enough. We need to re-plate your decks.»

«Antartica might be a good option.» Captain Quinn said.

«Its certainly far enough away from the main Revenant operating areas…» Dolls said thoughtfully.

«Do we have a plan then, sir?» Nicole asked.

Dolls covered his mouth as he thought about it, eyes darting over the world map imbedded in the tabletop in front of them.

«We do. Purgatory will find an Alliance ship and try to steal the Stealth Transmitter. Then we’ll regroup at Asunción before we head to Antartica.»


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in a mood today. Part of me fucking loves this chapter, part of me absolutely hates it. I can't write and rewrite it anymore without driving myself insane, so here it is. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Waverly had stayed in Wynonna’s cabin for a full twenty-four hours. First because Anna had told her to; she had no lingering injuries, but the doctor didn’t like that she had lost consciousness and wanted her to rest for a bit more before she started moving around. Then because she hadn’t quite figured out how to deal with the gigantic loss Purgatory and the BBD had just suffered and how she herself fit into it.

Waverly hadn’t know the people onboard the ship as well as they had, but even so she felt the loss so she could only imagine what the crew was feeling.

Not only had the crew lost a lot of their friends, BBD had lost half their fleet and thousands of people had died in the attack.

There was a part of Waverly that felt like she would be intruding on their grief if she showed her face now. She was the freeloader, the burden. All she had done during that entire fight was be unconscious and then hide down in the sickbay, feeling completely helpless and useless.

The hours had passed incredibly slowly as she had stared at the roof of the cot, mulling over everything. So much had changed in these last weeks and she had changed with it.

The world that she thought was right was completely wrong and the world she thought was wrong was so much more complex than something as simple as right and wrong.

The only way she had to measure time was the meals that Wynonna would bring to the cabin throughout the day. Her sister was apologetic that they couldn’t eat together, but with everything… Waverly had just given her a brave smile and told her to get back to work.

«I’ll be fine.»

Late at night, Wynonna had stumbled back in and slumped down on the mattress. For once the stumbling wasn’t because of Wynonna being drunk; she was absolutely exhausted.

All of the crew was working overtime to compensate for the loss. So not only were they grieving, they didn’t really have time for it because they needed to keep Purgatory afloat while missing a third of their crew.

While Wynonna snored loudly on the mattress, Waverly had gotten a night of restless sleep. She only managed to sleep for a few hours at the time. Nightmares and stressful dreams kept waking her. Once she was awake, she spent more hours not being able to fall back asleep due to a mind that wouldn’t stop churning.

She couldn’t get what Wynonna had said the night of the attack out of her head; she had been dragged into this. Both of them had been dragged into this. While serving BBD, Ward had earned the wrath of Bobo Del Rey. The pirate held some kind of personal hatred towards the Earps that burned even to this day. That was their father’s legacy; what he had left his last two living daughters. And so far Wynonna had been the only one carrying that legacy.

Dolls sat in his usual chair with Calamity Jane happily sleeping in his lap. Hannah was at the helm, finishing up the last hours of her nightshift.

Through the large windows on the bridge Waverly could see the first rays of light on the horizon as night turned to dawn. She had left Wynonna snoring on the mattress.

As Waverly closed the bulkhead behind her Dolls glanced at her over his shoulder. Judging by the big bags under his eyes, it had been a while since he had gotten proper sleep.

«Good morning, Waverly.» He said as he turned his head to look at the horizon again.

«Sir.» Waverly responded as she made her way over to the Controller’s chair where Wynonna usually sat.

She was a bit uncertain if she should sit down. After a second of trying to make up her mind she started sitting down, then changed her mind and stood back up and then finally made the definite decision to sit down in the chair.

Dolls glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

«What can I help you with, Waverly?»

Waverly prepared herself; she put her feet firmly on the ground, her hands clasped in her lap and she straightened her back.

«Sir. I don’t want to be a freeloader anymore, I want to do more.» Waverly blurted out.

Dolls swirled his chair to face her. Calamity Jane ‘mrewed’ grumpily at the movement, but settled back down. Dolls rested his chin in his hand and regarded her, but didn’t say anything.

Waverly took a deep breath to steady herself. She needed him to take her seriously and stuttering and stammering was not going to help.

«I am tired of being a passive bystander to my own life.» Her tone was much more steady now. «Through all of this, all my life really, I have had so little choice. All I have been able to do is helplessly react. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to be able to take action.» She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she finished: «What I’m trying to say is that I want to join the BBD.»

Dolls lifted his chin a bit, regarding her for a few long seconds before he asked. «Are you sure about this?»

«Yes» She grimaced a bit before continuing. «I know I don’t have any training or the skills, but I am smart. And dedicated. And I really, really want to do more than just… helplessly watch while all of you fight.»

Dolls steepled his fingers and pressed them to his lips as he kept watching her, measuring his options. Waverly could see the calculations going on inside his head.

«I am one navigator short at the moment. Does that sound like something that could interest you in the long run?»

«Yes, sir, yes it does.» Waverly said, letting out a nervous breath.

For the first time since Waverly arrived on this ship, she saw an actual small smile spread over Dolls’ lips; it was tiny and close-lipped, but it was a smile none the less.

«Alright. Welcome to the BBD, Waverly Earp.»

«That’s it? No oath-taking or ceremony or anything?»

«That’s it.» Dolls confirmed. «We’ll start by having you observe the bridge a few hours per day, then you’ll get proper training when we arrive in Antartica.»

«Antartica?» Waverly asked frowning. «Why are we going to Antartica?»

Dolls glanced over his shoulder at Hannah. «Helmsman, please put the ship on autopilot and step outside.»

«Aye, aye, sir» Hannah pressed a few buttons and then stepped out of the bridge.

Waverly’s frown deepened. As soon as the door closed she leaned closer to Dolls.

«What’s with all the secrecy?»

«I’m only telling you this because I doubt neither Wynonna nor Nicole will be able to keep it from you. So to save myself from having to punish them for insubordination, I will tell you and hope that you will not break that trust.»

«Are you fucking insane?»

Waverly slammed the door shut making Nicole jump out of the bed, chest heaving as she tried to calm down from the immediate surge of adrenaline. She was only wearing boy shorts and a singlet and her red hair was tousled from sleep. Waverly was too mad to think about how cute she looked.

«What on earth possesses you to think that you’ll be able to just sneak onto an Alliance ship? Who do you think you are? Some kind of ninja?» Waverly hissed, keeping her voice low.

Dolls had not only accepted her into BBD, he had also trusted her with critical information. Information even some of the other officers weren’t privy to. She was not going to break that trust.

She was however still gonna whisper-yell at Nicole for coming up with the goddamned stupidest idea in the history of mankind. Since Dolls was now her commanding officer or something, she couldn’t exactly yell at him for agreeing to it, so Nicole was getting the full force of her wrath.

«How do you know about that?» Nicole frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair.

«Dolls told me.»

«Dolls told you?»

«I joined the BBD, now tell me what on earth you were thinking-»

«You joined the BBD?»

«Nicole! What the hell are you thinking?»

«Waves» Nicole sighed as she leaned back against the dresser, head hanging slightly.

«Don’t you ‘Waves’ me, answer my question.»

«We need that stealth transmitter.»

«We need you alive!»

«No, we don’t!» Nicole pushed off the dresser, taking half a step forward. Then she bit her lip and took a deep breath to calm herself down again. «In the scope of it all, I am expendable. Half of BBD’s fleet is lying on the damn ocean floor. The best course of action is to take out the one person keeping all the pirates together. Without Bobo, the Revenants will crumble. We can’t get to him unless we have Alliance stealth technology, which means that if I don’t at least try to get it, the Revenants will just spread out from Amazon Bay; raiding, raping and killing the people we swore to protect. This might give us a chance.»

«You’re going to get yourself killed.» Waverly hissed angrily, tears welling up in her eyes.

«Then I die. At least I’d die knowing I did my best.»

Waverly took a step forward, her fists clenched at her sides. «There has to be a better way than this.»

«There isn’t. We’re not strong enough to face him head-on, we have no other allies to call on, hardly any resources and not a lot of time. There is no other option.»

«Nicole, you can’t die. I can’t-» Waverly heard her own voice break and she whirled around that her back was towards Nicole. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to will the tears that were running down her face to go back where they came from.

She heard Nicole first take one, then two tentative steps towards her.

«Waverly…» She said softly and placed a careful hand on her back.

Waverly shrugged the hand off and stormed out of the room.

The next two days, Waverly spent a few hours a day on the bridge; observing Dolls and Nedley while they were sharing navigational duties. After that she spent her time cleaning up the Greenhouse. It had been absolutely trashed by the turbo during their escape from the Ghost Triangle. For the last two nights she had also slept in there.

Wynonna had of course gotten pissed off when she learned that Dolls had let Waverly join BBD. Her sister had first cussed him out and then the two of them had gotten in a massive argument. So now whenever Waverly was on the bridge, Wynonna would have a sour look on her face and meet Dolls with an ice front, only speaking to him when her job dictated it.

This had only spurred on even more fighting between the sisters. Waverly thought Wynonna was being unfair while Wynonna felt like Waverly was just throwing away everything she had done to keep her safe.

So Waverly slept in the Greenhouse since bunking with neither Nicole nor Wynonna was an option at the moment.

Dolls had offered to room her up with someone else on the ship; the crew cabins had two to four cots. But Waverly didn’t think that the best way to get the crew to accept her as one of them now that she had joined BBD was to occupy the bed of someone who had just died. They deserved more time to mourn.

Instead she had taken the mattress from Wynonna’s room and made herself a little bed on one of the steel workbenches. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it gave her space and she had somewhere to sleep.

Finding an Alliance ship had proved to be very easy once you just started looking. Apparently one was anchored up just outside the Midatlantic Isles, and the Purgatory was currently in the process of sailing through the fjords and canals between the isles towards the Destroyer.

The Midatlantic Isles were the remnants of artificially constructed islands that had been constructed during the melt. It had been an attempt at creating new land to compensate for the land lost to the rising sea levels.

Turns out that creating functional and safe land out of nothing in the middle of the ocean was much harder than they had thought. After years of failing, civil war and finally rampant pirate raids the isles were abandoned. Now they were just a barren heap of dirt and rubble.

The Alliance Destroyer was clearly visible on their radar where it was anchored just outside the cluster of islands. Waverly thought to herself that this stealth technology couldn’t be that good if they found the ship this easily.

Luckily she didn’t have to voice her thoughts, because Wynonna had pointed out as much, her words dripping with suppressed anger at this idiotic plan. At least there was still one thing the sisters agreed on.

Nicole had patiently explained that they didn’t run the stealth transmitter all the time. Stealth for the Alliance wasn’t their main modus operandi, but a tool in their massive toolbox.

Wynonna had mimicked Nicole’s words in a mocking voice. Both Dolls and Nicole ignored her as they went about laying a plan.

From what little Waverly understood they had been lucky finding a Destroyer anchored up in that spot; the Purgatory was much smaller than a Destroyer so they could enter and manoeuvre in much shallower water. That meant they could sail between the isles instead of having to stay in the deeper waters outside the central cluster of isles.

The isles would give them cover from the radar and as long as they ran on low speeds they wouldn’t be picked up by the sonar either. They seemed confident they could get within ten miles of the Destroyer unnoticed. 

If they managed to remain unnoticed, Nicole would use something they called the SDV to make her way over to the Alliance destroyer and steal the Stealth Transmitter. So Nicole’s dumb suicide mission was starting at midnight, provided that they had managed to get close enough undetected.

Waverly had excused herself when they started talking about what they could do if something went wrong. She did not want to hear them lay a plan which might include leaving Nicole behind or letting her die.

Not knowing where to go, Waverly had gone to visit Chrissy who was still in the sickbay, healing from a nasty break in her leg. Chrissy tried to get out of her why she was in such a foul mood, but she hadn’t been successful. Waverly did however get the distinct impression that she knew it had something to do with Nicole. After a few very non-committal replies, Chrissy backed off. The best part about Chrissy Nedley was that she knew when not to push.

After an hour or so, Anna had banished Waverly from the sickbay, telling her Chrissy needed to rest.

Waverly returned to the Greenhouse where she had started pacing. And she paced and she paced and she paced. When she started worrying that she was going to grind down the steel floors and fall into the ocean she started wandering the ship instead.

For each second that passed, they came closer to either having to do battle against an Alliance Destroyer or sending Nicole off to her possible death and there was nothing Waverly could do about that.

It hadn’t helped yelling at Nicole and she couldn’t go talk to Wynonna because she was being a dink about everything. So Waverly wandered the empty corridors of the ship, arms wrapped around herself as the pit in her stomach grew more and more painful.

She couldn’t be relieved that they seemingly were still undiscovered by the Destroyer because that meant that Nicole would be leaving soon, and she couldn’t hope that they were in fact discovered because then they would all be in a lot of danger.

Waverly entered the corridor where the saloons were. To her surprise she saw soft light coming from the bar.

The rest of the ship had hunkered down for the approach; either getting some long needed sleep, or breathlessly waiting for any sign that the full might of an Alliance Destroyer was about to bear down on them.

This was the first people she had stumbled over that were not at their stations. She could hear low voices coming from inside the bar. Voices she recognised as she quietly snuck closer to the slightly ajar door.

«You’re not gonna drink?» Wynonna asked grumpily.

«I’m a few hours away from a long dive, Earp. Not really the best idea to drink beforehand.» Nicole chuckled.

«Ugh, you’re such a narc. If you’re not gonna drink, why are you even here?»

«Oh, you know. You kinda looked like you needed some company.»

Wynonna scoffed. «I've got company right here.» The clinking of glass reached Waverly's ears. 

«Yeah, yeah» Nicole said and Waverly could envision how she was shaking her head at Wynonna. After a pause Nicole said: «You know I have to do this. It's our best chance.»

«Doesn’t mean that I have to like it or be happy that you are going in alone, you dumb ginger.» Wynonna gulped loudly as she drank some more, then slammed the glass on the counter. «Its fucking dumb and reckless, Nicole.»

Nicole chuckled. «You’re just mad that I get to be the dumb, reckless one for once.»

«Fuck you» Wynonna barked and Waverly could hear her glass being lifted from the bar, its contents emptied and the glass being slammed down on the bar again. «And your dumb recklessness has rubbed off on Waverly.»

«I really had nothing to do with that.»

«Ugh! Why the hell did she have to go and join BBD?» Wynonna complained and Waverly could hear something, probably Wynonna’s forehead, thumping against the top of the bar.

«She’s an adult. She can make her own decisions. I, for one, think it's a good thing.» Nicole said calmly.

«Of course you do.» Wynonna grumbled. «But why’d she have to make such a dumbass decision? Just putting herself right back in the danger.»

«Really? Like she hasn’t been in more danger than she’s ever been before in the short time since we extracted her?»

«Yeah, but now she’ll be smack dab in the middle of the danger.»

Nicole scoffed. «Wynonna, she’s already smack dab in the danger. If anything, training her is only going to make her more capable of getting herself out of the danger.»

«I wasn’t going to let her stay here forever. Once she got comfortable with life outside of the Alliance I was gonna to find her some good safe job far away from all of this.»

Waverly felt the old rage towards her sister rear its ugly head again, and clenched her jaw to keep from storming in and shouting at her. 

«Are you serious, Earp?» Nicole groaned.

«What?»

«Even you can’t be this thick. You already abandoned her once. How do you think she would react if you did it again? You think she’d forgive you?»

Wynonna groaned. «I know okay? I fucking know. This is all just so fucked up. All of it.»

There was a moment of silence before Nicole continued speaking.

«She’s just doing what her sister did. Join up with something better to try to make this shithole of a world slightly less shitty. And I think she wants to exert some control over the situation. We should support her and respect her choices, not chastise her.»

Waverly could hear Wynonna refill her glass.

«Alright there, Waverly-whisperer. Where did you get all this insight?» The glass was lifted off the bar again.

Nicole let out a sound that was somewhere between a frustrated laugh and a deep sigh. «Let’s just say that I recently made the mistake of thinking I knew better what was good for her than she did.»

Waverly turned and walked as quietly as she could away from the door. She didn’t want to hear Nicole’s reasonings, didn’t want to listen to her defend her.

She wanted to be mad. She wanted to be mad that Nicole had doubted her heart. She wanted to be mad that Nicole was stupidly risking her life. She needed to be mad. She dealt much better with anger than _everything_ Nicole was making her feel.

«That have anything to do with why you haven’t been attached at the hip lately?» Wynonna voice followed her down the corridor and faded into silence as Waverly snuck away.

Waverly stared at the clock on the wall of the Greenhouse. It blinked ’23:51’ at her. She had returned to the Greenhouse after overhearing Nicole and Wynonna’s conversation and had stayed there. Pacing and pacing and pacing and pacing.

About half an hour ago she had heard Nicole enter the Armoury further down the corridor. The steady sound of the redhead moving around as she got ready for her stupid suicide mission was driving her insane.

She tapped her fingers on the workbench and watched as the clocked ticked ’23:52’.

Eight minutes until Nicole set off alone towards an Alliance Destroyer with the idiotic idea that she could sneak onboard and steal super secret Alliance stealth tech like it was nothing.

Eight minutes until it might be the last time she saw her.

Eight minutes till Nicole might be gone forever.

Her feet started moving on their own accord and when she reached the door, her hands reached for the handle to open it. She was not gonna let her go without giving her a final piece of her mind. She didn’t get to just leave quietly in the night to maybe never come back. Waverly would not let her go off without knowing exactly how dumb this was.

The door to the armoury was slightly ajar, and Waverly could see Nicole’s shadow cast against the wall as she was moving around. Waverly stepped inside and with a flick of her wrist slammed the door shut behind her.

Nicole turned to face her. She looked like someone who was ready for a dumb suicidal stealth mission: dark clothes, a small bulletproof vest, a belt with a gun holster and small packs with various gear tightly strapped to the belt and to her thighs to ensure that Nicole could move as unhindered and quietly as possible. There was also a knife strapped to her leg. Nicole had put her hair into a small ponytail, using bobby pins to ensure that the hair would stay out of the way.

«Waverly, what are y-» was all Nicole managed to say before Waverly crashed into her.

She placed her hand on the back of Nicole’s neck and pulled her into a kiss. The force and determination took Nicole by surprise and when Waverly kept pushing forward, she mindlessly backed up until her back hit the workbench stopping her in her tracks.

For a moment Nicole was frozen, but when Waverly wrapped her arms around her shoulders; one hand moving up to grab that dumb red hair and the other around the back of her neck, she responded.

Strong arms enveloped her and pressed them even closer together as she started kissing her back, her lips matching Waverly’s own ferocity.

At first it was a hard, desperate kiss. A kiss filled with anger and tears where they claimed what they needed and took what they wanted.

Then Nicole softly ran her hands over her back, up her sides to cup her face, wordlessly asking Waverly to slow down and let them both feel this. Waverly could do nothing but accept the request as she loosened her grip around Nicole’s neck and let her own hands run down over the bulletproof vest, to rest on Nicole’s hips.

Nicole’s strong hands gently cupped Waverly’s cheeks as she kissed her softly. She tasted like vanilla. The vanilla mixed with the taste of salt from Waverly’s own tears.

In this moment, this timeless moment, Waverly just let go. She didn’t think about the stakes or their possible doom.

Instead she remained there; suspended in this timeless moment where the only thing that mattered was feeling Nicole’s lips move against her own. She tried to project every feeling into that kiss. She couldn't find the words to say, so she tried to show it all through the gentle dance of their lips.

The moment lasted forever, yet it was over all too soon. Nicole drew back slightly, kissing her softly one more time before she pressed her forehead to Waverly’s.

Waverly did not open her eyes, not willing to leave this bubble they had created, this moment where there were just the two of them and nothing else.

Tears were running freely down her face. Nicole didn’t say anything, she just dried the tears with her thumbs and kept pressing their foreheads together as she ever so gently rocked them from side to side.

Waverly tried to catch her breath as they stood like that; neither willing to move away, both knowing it soon had to end.

Waverly felt her heart break as Nicole’s soft voice reached her ears.

«Waverly… I have to go.»

She gave the tiniest nod. «I know.» She grabbed the top of the bulletproof vest, holding on desperately as she finally opened her eyes to look into Nicole’s eyes. «Come back to me.»

Nicole leaned in slowly to kiss her once more, keeping eye contact until the moment their lips met. Waverly knew Nicole couldn't bring herself to make a promise she didn't know if she could keep. Instead, the kiss felt like a promise to try.

Then Nicole wrapped Waverly in a tight hug. Waverly committed every part to memory; how Nicole’s arms felt around her, how their bodies fit so perfectly together, Nicole’s steady breathing, her scent, the taste of vanilla that still lingered on her lips. 

Then Nicole unwrapped herself from Waverly and stepped around her. She picked up the diving gear, cast one last look at Waverly with a small solemn smile and left the Armoury.

Waverly let herself slide down on the floor and covered her face with her hands as she tried to keep her panic at bay.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went a bit back and forth on if I should write this chapter from Waverly's perspective or not, but then you guys seem to enjoy my action writing, so I decided to get some more practise writing that.  
> So here you go; yet another chapter from a new perspective. 
> 
> As always, hope you enjoy!

* * *

**NICOLE:**

Nicole had always liked being underwater. There was something about how the world melted away and everything became ethereal.

Except for the sounds of the regulator occasionally hissing as it released more air into her mask and the subtle humming of the SDV, everything else around her was quiet and it felt oddly serene.

Her trainers at the Academy had said that one of her greatest strengths was her ability to compartmentalise and focus solely on the task at hand. So when she had first driven out of Purgatory’s docking bay, that was what she had set about doing.

As she dove down into the water she had given herself five minutes to assess everything that had just happened before she would store it away in her mind so that she could focus on her mission. She had 48 minutes until she reached the Destroyer. She could afford to give herself five minutes.

She had never intended to fall for Waverly Earp. Honestly, she was constantly beating herself up about it. Her intention had been to offer safety and guidance to the young frightened woman who had been forcibly brought to Purgatory.

Nicole had gone through the exact same realisations and world shattering four years earlier and thought that she could offer some perspective and understanding that none of the others could.

She had found herself immediately drawn to Waverly. She was gentle, fierce, intelligent, kind and so incredibly brave. There was so much life in Waverly’s eyes; eyes that were green, blue and brown all at the same time. Eyes that pulled her in with a gravity that felt inescapable.

Waverly had handled this whole ‘learning that everything had been a lie and realignment of your entire world’ much better than she herself had. It had taken Waverly under two months to start readjusting and begin functioning again.

The quiet resilience and strength that vibrated through Waverly’s entire body refused to be snuffed out by fear, and all Nicole could do was watch in awe. 

Nicole worried that what she was feeling was some fucked up saviour complex, while what Waverly was feeling was just an intense connection to the person who was helping her through this.

But then Waverly did things or said things that made her feel like this was real. That the way Waverly looked her at wasn’t just because of some misplaced, intense gratitude but because she was actually feeling the same as Nicole.

That day in the training room a few weeks ago. Yes, Nicole had played into it, but it was Waverly who had started it and it was Waverly who had challenged her to take it further. And by god she almost had.

Before Waverly she hadn’t met anyone who made her feel so at ease, yet somehow managed to set every nerve in her body on fire and leave her trembling. They had found each other in that quiet space you only find between two people who have shared the same pain yet there was this tension, this electricity between them that made her feel alive.

But there was this nagging voice in the back of Nicole’s mind, reminding her that it could all be a lie. It could just be Waverly latching onto a person she felt could understand her and who would protect her when she needed it.

She was terrified that once this new world had become normal in Waverly’s eyes, she would realise that Nicole wasn’t who she thought she was. Then Nicole would have ruined the place that was supposed to be safe and she would not only lose Waverly, but probably Wynonna too.

_Oh god, Wynonna is gonna kill me._

She had tried - no that’s a lie - she had wanted to try to stay away from Waverly. When Waverly had first been allowed the move around on her own, Nicole had told herself that she would not actively seek Waverly out.

She would walk that fine line of trying to distance herself while still not making Waverly feel like she was pushing her away.

That attempt had lasted for two days before Nicole had picked up her work and gone to the Greenhouse. After that Nicole had decided that she would not push or make a move. The ball was in Waverly’s corner and she was not going to think too much about it.

Then she had bumped into Shea at the Ghost Triangle and Waverly had stormed out. The following conversation had spurred her into laying her cards on the table, voicing her fears and judging from the expression on Waverly’s face she knew she had hurt her deeply.

Then the attack had happened and the following days had just been filled with grief, pain and hard decisions. Waverly hadn’t seemed like she was willing to talk and then she had been too angry with Nicole to talk.

So Nicole had compartmentalised, she had focused on the task at hand, prepared as best she could in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Then in the last moment Waverly had rushed into the armoury and kissed her.

Nicole had always thought that the hardest thing she ever had to do was to unlearn all the propaganda and lies the Alliance had planted in her brain.

That finding who she really was in the ruins of the person the Alliance had made her was the toughest thing she had ever had to do.

Now Nicole knew that the hardest thing she’s ever had to do was leave Waverly behind in that Armoury.

It had taken every ounce of willpower she had in her entire body to tear herself away from her and walk out of that room. Like a silent chant she had told herself that the best she could do in order to keep Waverly safe was to finish this mission.

With the Stealth Transmitter they had a chance. The Earp sisters would have a chance to take Bobo out. They could put the events set in motion before their birth to rest and move on from everything that had to do with Bobo and revenants.

Not only that, it was their best chance at saving BBD and the people they had sworn to protect.

Still it had felt like part of her soul had been ripped from her body. It had stayed behind with Waverly in that armoury.

Nicole realised that she had gone over her allotted five minutes of thinking about this. She now had 39 minutes until she arrived at the Destroyer.

Taking a deep breath of the oddly tasting air in her mask, Nicole put everything she felt about Waverly in the mental compartment she had prepared in her mind.

She neatly placed how it felt to hold her, her taste, their kiss, her smile in that compartment. She plucked the image of Waverly from her mind and gently placed it in the compartment, forcing it from her mind. It would stay there, waiting to be opened.

Alliance Destroyers were beasts. Monsters that prowled the oceans like some ancient sea-monster from stories of old. They had guided missiles, deadly torpedos and turrets.

The Alliance had the most money, which meant that they had the best tech, the most devastating weapons and the best protection. Each ship was designed to show that the Alliance was the biggest dog in these waters and that other vessels should stay out of their way.

They were a force to be reckoned with, but Nicole had been behind the scenes. She had lived and learned aboard these ships. She knew what it looked like behind the tough exterior, she knew every dirty secret and weakness.

Every corridor of the mass produced ships, every maintenance tunnel and hatch, every escape route, every defence. It was as familiar to her as the back of her hand.

Yes, Alliance Destroyers were beasts, but they were not flawless. In their own illusion of grandeur the Alliance felt it necessary to design and produce massive anti-ship missiles, or torpedos as they were most commonly know outside the Alliance.

Because of the sheer size of their anti-ship missile launchers they had to be integrated into the hull of the ship itself, instead of being installed up on deck like they were on most other ships.

Two massive missile barrels came out from the aft, with two more at the bow. These massive gun barrels need regular maintenance and inspection. Can’t risk a torpedo getting stuck and exploding inside the ship.

Now the crew couldn’t hang off the side of the ship all the time to do these inspections, so maintenance tunnels that lead out into the mouth of the barrel had been designed.

Thick, heavy hatches blocked the tunnel from external access as well as to maintain the integrity of the hull as much as possible.

The hatches could only be opened with a special set of keys. Keys that had been laser cut and imprinted with a secret code only the scanner in the lock could read.

For safety reasons, the hatches had locks on both side of the door so that if they needed to complete maintenance on the barrel during travel, the repair crew could lock the door behind them.

All in all, it was a very secure system. Hard to break into. The thing was, however, that when the Alliance had blown that family’s boat out of the water with Nicole onboard. When they had left her for dead because she had committed the crime of caring and trying to be a decent human being no-one aboard her old ship had thought to confiscate her keys from her ‘dead’ body.

Yes, it was a beast but it was not perfect and Nicole knew that the Alliance had grown lazy in their superiority. It had been so long since anyone had dared to pick a fight with the biggest kid in the yard. So though they splurged on the design of the ships and the weapons, the Alliance saved money where they could.

Despite investing heavily on making this hatch as secure as possible, doing what they could to make sure it didn’t weaken the integrity of the hull, Nicole knew that they had made one choice that in this moment finally proved to be a mistake.

The keys to the maintenance hatches were universally identical.

Even through the dark abyss that surrounded her, Nicole could clearly see the massive shape of the Destroyer in the water. She slowed down even more; the SDV moving almost soundlessly through the water.

Even if they did pick up the minute sounds on the Sonar, the overwhelming majority of all operators would classify the sound it made as just a curious ocean creature moving around the ship. The SDV had been designed to provide that illusion.

She had done the maths on the way over here, and had given herself a 60% chance of success. Of course all of that hinged on a lot of luck. She had never been the luckiest, but if there ever was a night where Lady Luck should look fondly on her, it would be this one.

Nicole was not about to take any chances so she came to a stop a couple of dozen feet from the ship, put the SDV in floating mode; it would stay at that exact location until she returned. Then she unhooked herself from the vessel. She didn’t want to park the SDV right next to the ship and risk the waves making it thud against the hull, revealing that it was in fact not just a sea creature but a stealth vehicle.

After taking a deep breath Nicole shut off the oxygen valve, removed her mask and swam diagonally towards the Destroyer. She broke the surface, taking great care to make sure that every movement she made was smooth and would make as little sound as possible. She had surfaced about midship.

It was the middle of the night, so the ship was quiet. Nicole swam towards the aft anti-ship missile launcher.

The maintenance tunnel would lead her to the Portside gun magazine. From there all she had to do was make her way down two corridors, one set of stair and then she would be in the engine room.

Nicole reached up and grabbed the edge of the massive barrel. She looked behind her and spotted what she needed: that wave that was always a bit bigger than all the others. She held onto the edge and waited until she felt that wave lift her higher than the rest. As quietly as she could she lifted herself the rest of the way.

As she kneeled inside the mouth of the barrel, she quickly removed her fins and drysuit, leaving them in a wet pile inside the barrel.

Underneath the drysuit her clothes and equipment was dry. It wouldn’t have done her any good to leave a trail of water behind her.

Nicole stood up as much as she could and headed a bit deeper into the gun barrel. There, just above her head was the hatch. She fished her old key out of her pocket, slid it in the lock and held her breath as she tried turning the key.

Of course, it had been five years since she had been with the Alliance. They could have changed the code, they could have realised this massive mistake and made sure that the keys were more unique to avoid this fatal flaw in their security.

The lock clicked and Nicole reached up with her other hand to keep the hatch from slamming open. She put her key back in her pocket and climbed into the maintenance hatch.

The tunnel wasn’t big enough for her to crouch, so she had to slide down the tunnel on her stomach. It was slow going; she had to make sure she made as little sound as she could.

Thankfully, the engines on a Destroyer were quite loud even while it was idling. The occasional scraping or creaking would just be chalked up to the general sounds of the ship. Or at least so she hoped.

She reached the end of the tunnel and waited for a moment, listening intently. This late at night the guards would be focused on the top deck and the upper entrances, but Nicole couldn’t account for anyone roaming the ship on their own accord.

A minute passed as she listened, but she couldn’t hear anyone in the immediate vicinity. There was definitely someone one deck above her in the Information and Coms centre, but other than that she hadn’t heard anything out of the normal.

With careful, quiet movement she swung the inner hatch open and stepped out of the maintenance tunnel.

The gun magazine was empty, the bulkhead leading into the corridor outside was closed. She crept across the room and pressed her ear to the bulkhead door.

This next part was the critical one. There would be no place to hide and even fewer places to run if anyone came walking up or down the next two corridors and the stairs she needed to descend to get to the engine room.

Nicole closed her eyes and listened as she held her breath. She stayed like that for a minute before she was certain that no-one was moving in that general direction.

Gently as could be, she pulled open the lever and opened the bulkhead enough to squeeze through and closed it again behind her.

The light in the corridor hurt her eyes. She had gotten used to the darkness of the water and maintenance tunnel. The light here was harsh and sharp.

Through sheer force of will, she made her eyes adjust to the light and started creeping down the hallway.

Her hand hovered over the handle of her gun, ready to draw at a moments notice if she ended up having to try to shoot her way out of here.

Putting her Alliance sponsored and BBD improved upon training to good use, Nicole made her way down the corridor, the stairs and through the second corridor. She willed her heart to stop racing; she was almost there.

The bulkhead to the engine was open, and she could hear shuffling footsteps and the occasional humming from inside. She crouched down and peeked around the doorframe.

There was only one mechanic on shift; a young man whose uniform would not pass inspection. He was also breaking protocol by listening to music as he was supposed to watch the engine.

Half the job of a mechanic was listening to the engine; any minute change in the sounds that came from the engine could tell the entire story of what was going wrong to the right mechanic.

This young man has his back to the door as he blasted music through his headset. He wasn’t really doing any work. As a matter of fact he was holding the wrench like a microphone as he held his own private silent concert.

Nicole let herself feel guilty for what was about to happen for two seconds. The young man was in for a world of pain once the brass discovered that the Stealth Transmitter was missing and that it had happened because this young man had not been paying attention.

She stepped inside. While the young mechanic was playing the air-guitar solo of a lifetime, she crept up behind him. Before he could really understand what was happening she had him in a choke-hold that immediately cut off his oxygen supply. All he could do was desperately clutch at her arm as the wrench clattered to the ground.

Nicole hoped that the sound wouldn’t echo through the ship, and if it did everyone else would just attribute it to a clumsy mechanic.

The young man sank to his knees as his attempt at escaping became weaker and weaker.There was an art to choking someone out. If you didn’t cut off the oxygen supply for long enough they would wake up too quick. If you held it too long you could end up permanently damaging or killing them.

Nicole held the choke for nearly two minutes and as she released the choke around his throat to drag him across the floor to hide him from sight, she hoped she hadn’t caused him any permanent injury.

She dragged him into the back of the engine room, making sure that he wasn’t easy to spot. Then she oriented herself. The Stealth Transmitter should be installed directly into the engine computers.

It was to be honest, a pretty simple piece of tech. The transmitter noticed incoming sonar pulses, sent out a short range signal that scrambled them, then spoofed a fake signal back at the sonar of the enemy ship, making it think its sound-waves hadn’t hit anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.

The transmitter would be installed on top of the engine in its computer cluster. With sure steps, Nicole climbed up on the engine. She had to jump from the one she was on to the next, but there it was.

Ever the planner, Nicole had brought a small drill and made quick work of the screws that held the thick plexiglass cover that protected the tech from dust in place.

It took her less than thirty seconds to unhook the transmitter from its wires and remove the screws holding it in place.

The transmitter itself was about the size of her fist. She took out the waterproofed and padded box she had brought along to safely transport the transmitter back to Purgatory, opened it and placed it next to her.

She reached down and lifted the transmitter out from its slot.

«ICC to Engine, come in Engine.» The mechanic’s radio, which he had left somewhere in the room sparked the life.

Nicole had been so focused and used to the relative quiet that the sudden sound startled her. She lost her grip on the transmitter. It bounced over the engine. Nicole dove for it, but couldn’t reach it before it fell in-between thick plastic tubes containing wires.

«Engine, why is the Stealth Transmitter disconnected?»

_Fuck._

Nicole kneeled down where the transmitter had disappeared between the pipes and desperately tried to find it. She could just glimpse it down there; nestled between two engine parts.

«Goddamn it, Tommy. Engine Come in! Jesus, the idiot is probably-» ICC cut the transmission.

Nicole already knew what was about to happen. The Mechanic, Tommy, had probably been put on the nightshift because he was slightly useless. Him not responding to his radio was a common occurrence that wouldn’t necessarily alarm them. But to cover their own asses they would send someone down to the engines to investigate.

Nicole had somewhere between 40 and 120 seconds to get a hold of the transmitter again, secure it in the transport container and get to her escape route.

She laid down on her stomach and forced her arm into the narrow space between the pipes. She had to be careful; if she nudged it too much it would fall deeper into the engine, making it impossible for her to reach it without disassembling parts of the engine.

Carefully she reached for it, and grazed it with the tip of her middle finger. It wobbled threateningly. She had to get closer.

Her senses were heightened because of the adrenaline, and she could already pick up the sounds of someone closing a door with harsh movement. They had sent someone from the ICC, which meant that Nicole now had 45 seconds to get the transmitter secured and get out of there.

She gritted her teeth against the pain as she forced her shoulder between the pipes. She finally managed to get a tentative grip on the transmitter; holding it between her index and middle finger. Careful not to make too many sudden movements and risk losing her grip on the transmitter, she pulled her arm out of the vice grip of the pipes.

The transmitter was safe in her hand. She placed the tech in the transportation box, sealed it and hooked it to her belt again, securing it to her hip. The steps of the deputy headed down to the engine echoed down the hall, mixing with the droning from the engine making it hard for her to hear how far he had gotten, but if she had to guess he was in the hallway outside the gun magazine.

Nicole jumped down from the engine and darted to the far back of the engine room. There was an escape hatch there, which would take her all the way to the main deck.

She stepped over Tommy’s sleeping body and climbed up the 15 feet until she reached the first hatch.

These hatched shouldn’t be locked, but as she turned the wheel to release the hatch and tried to push it open it didn’t budge.

_Fuck._

She pushed even harder, but it still wouldn’t budge. So Tommy was not the only mechanic who was slacking. This hatch should have been maintained and its hinges should have been oiled regularly.

The hinges were rusted, making it incredibly hard to open the hatch. Nicole climbed up a bit more and pressed her back into the hatch, using her feet to push it open instead of her arms.

«Seriously, Tommy. You gotta get your shit together.» The deputy yelled as he entered the engine. She wasn’t hard to spot; very visible on the wall 15 feet off the ground, her back flush against the hatch as she pushed it open. If he by some miracle had missed her, his attention was immediately drawn to the shrieking of the hinges as the hatch was pushed open.

«What the - oh, fuck!» The Deputy grabbed his radio as Nicole scrambled through the hatch. «Intruder!» He shouted into the radio as Nicole used her foot to kick the hatch shut.

They all knew this escape route led to the upper decks. It was too late to turn back and she was now in a race to climb to the top before the deputies on guarding duty made their way over to the topside hatch.

She climbed as fast as she could forcing herself to remain calm. The worst thing to happen right now would be if she lost her grip and fell down the shaft. Her destination crept closer and closer as Nicole begged whatever gods or fates might be to just let her make it out of here.

As long as she managed to get out on the deck, she could make it out. She had to make it out for the sake of BBD, the people they had lost, the friends they had lost, the friends who were still alive on Purgatory waiting anxiously for her to return.

For Waverly.

She didn’t waste any time trying to open the hatch normally, not trusting the maintenance routines of these idiots. Again she turned the wheel to release the hatch and pressed her back against it. This one opened a bit easier than the one at the bottom.

She scrambled through the hatch and found herself on the top deck. She was on the Starboard side, and she needed to jump off ship on the Portside. She needed to get as close to the SDV as possible.

«There!»

Nicole glanced to her right and saw three armed deputies spill out of the door to the aft super structure. Instinct took over and Nicole set off in a sprint:

She did her best to zig-zag, trying to keep to cover. Bullets started raining down around her, ricocheting off of the steel structures around her.

Three of bullets hit her vest, the impact knocking the air from her lungs, but she kept on running. She skidded around the corner of the aft superstructure and had three steps to react to the deputy who stood in her way.

Lowering her centre of gravity she bull-rushed him, knocking him off his feet and jumping over his body. Two more deputies came into her path ahead and the three behind her were catching up quickly. She wasn’t as close to the SDV as she would’ve liked, but she was out of time.

Jumping up and kicking off the wall, Nicole balanced for a moment on the railing before she dived into the black ocean beneath. It was a long drop, but she streamlined her body as much as possible; she needed all the speed she could get if she was to make it out of this alive.

She cut through the surface and every part of her body hurt like hell from the impact, but she was conscious and the speed of her dive helped her glide through the water. She twisted her body so the forward momentum would bring her closer to the SDV.

Around her bullets cut through the surface, their trajectory being slowed by the water resistance. They weren’t close to touching her. But now they knew she was here, they probably knew that the sounds from the SDV was in fact mechanical and it would just be a manner of time until they unleashed the vicious deck turrets on her. Neither she nor the SDV would dive deep enough to avoid those projectiles.

With all her might she swam through the water, having to fight not only to propel herself forward, but also to ensure that she didn’t float back to the surface; she no longer had the weighted belt to keep her down.

About ten feet away the first rounds from the deck turrets hit the water, the projectile disappearing into the darkness below. Those rounds would tear her apart.

She pressed herself harder, the SDV finally coming into view. Another round from the turret was fired into the water, this time closer.

Nicole reached the SDV and in a split second had a horrible realisation:

If she used the SDV to escape she would lead them right back to Purgatory.

Making the decision in the blink of an eye, she tore the oxygen tank from its holder and placed the mask over her face. Opening the valve, she used the excess air to force the water out of her mask.

Another round tore through the water and disappeared into the deep. They were way too close for comfort. But Nicole forced herself to focus and programmed the SDV’s autopilot.

She told it to drive out into the ocean, away from the isles. Last thing she did was put it on full speed before she let go. The SDV’s engines started whirring and the craft set off out towards the sea.

There was no way that the Destroyer’s systems wouldn’t be able to track it. The deck turrets reacted almost immediately and a projectile drove through the water just two feet away from her. Luckily, the remaining projectiles moved away from her, in the direction of the SDV.

Nicole turned and swam towards land as quietly as she could manage, doing her best to keep her movements smooth so that the Sonar wouldn’t pick it up.

She was tiring quickly, having to constantly work to remain deep under water. To make it easier on her muscles, she would take a deep breath, then letting it out rather quickly before holding her breath. It helped somewhat, but every muscle in her body started trembling.

A shockwave travelled through the waters as the SDV exploded. Nicole glanced over her shoulder and watched as the heavier parts of the vehicle sank while the lighter plastic floated to the surface. Gritting her teeth she forced more power into her muscles and continued moving towards the shore.

After what felt like an eternity she finally reached shallower waters. She couldn’t get her feet under her, so she crawled up the beach, leaving the oxygen tank and mask behind in the sand. She didn’t stop until she was behind a small hill, shielding her from view.

There she collapsed into the sand, heaving desperately for air as her body trembled with the exertion.

She gave herself ten seconds to just breathe before she clawed her way up the small hill so she could look at the ship. There was definitely activity on deck, but they were not raising anchor and the above-ground-missile launchers were not being aimed in Purgatory’s direction.

It seemed like her last deception had been successful and they believed she had come from the open ocean and not behind them in between the isles.

Nicole rolled over on her back and stared up at the stars above her, trying to calm her breathing.

She lifter arm and looked at her clock. It read ’01:05:23’. She and Dolls had agreed that if she hadn’t returned by 0300 hours, Purgatory would assume the worst and leave.

She couldn’t risk contacting them on the communicator. The Alliance would snatch up the transmission at these ranges, and their presence would be revealed.

She was ten miles from Purgatory in airline, probably closer to thirteen or fourteen now that she had to get over the islands. At least 30% of that distance she had to swim, which was much slower than running. She also had to be careful not to trip and hurt herself.

As Nicole stared up at the stars she knew that she had just under two hours to make her way back to Purgatory before they left.

She closed her eyes and let herself take three more deep breaths. Then she forced herself up from the ground and started running.

Her entire body screamed at her to stop; her lungs were burning, her head ached and her legs threatened to buckle under her with every step.

But necessity and training drove her on. She counted ten steps at the time. Just another ten, and another ten, then another ten.

She was dripping wet both from the seawater and her own sweat. The soldier in her was still berating her for having removed her bulletproof vest and heavy tool belt. The only things that remained was her clothes, shoes, her gun holster and the transportation box containing the Stealth Transmitter.

A soldier never left their gear. But she had to; she hadn’t been moving fast enough and she had to make it back in time.

She was so close, she was sure. If her memory served her right, she just needed to get down this hill and she would stand on the shores facing Purgatory.

Just ten more steps. Then just ten more.

The hill was steep and she was starting to get dizzy. Her feet gave out from under her and she just went limp, letting herself roll down the hill until she came to a stop in coarse sand at the bottom.

She had to be close, she _had_ to be. Nicole dragged herself forward until the sand she was climbing through was wet. With a mighty heave she pushed herself to her knees.

She tried to look out on the fjord in front of her, but her vision was blurry and the moonlight was hidden behind the cloud cover that had rolled in over the last hour.

Through the darkness and her own exhaustion she couldn’t spot Purgatory. With trembling hands and jerky movements she pulled her gun from the holster. In her desperate need to remove any excess weight she had forgotten to remove her communicator from her belt before she dropped in on the ground.

Of course the soldier would keep her weapon, but forget about the communication device. But she gathered they were far enough away from the Alliance Destroyer for this to be safe.

And if Purgatory was gone it wouldn’t matter, she would die here anyway in that case; either from exposure or from the Alliance catching up with her, realising who she was and then executing her for treason.

She barely managed to hold the gun as she pointed it away from herself and towards the sand. The gunshot echoed out over the water. If they were there, hopefully they would hear her. She waited for a moment, then fired another one.

Her ears were ringing from the blast from the gun as well as the pounding of her own racing heart. She tried to focus but couldn’t hear anything.

She hung her head and fired one last shot. As she waited for any sign that she wasn’t alone her mind was completely empty. She was too tired to lay a plan of what to do if Purgatory had left, she was too tired for anything.

Something caught her attention; a low rumbling. The sound of an engine. The bright light from a spotlight blinded her for a moment and she lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the harsh light. The sound of the engine came closer, but the intensity of the light was turned down. It still felt too bright so Nicole kept shielding her eyes with her hand.

«Haught!» Eric’s voice echoed over the water and Nicole could have cried then, if she had any strength left in her body.

She had managed to climb out of the speeder without any help. Her legs were still shaky, but finally being safe inside Purgatory filled her with new energy.

«Nicole Haught, you glorious ginger bitch! Give me a big one!» Wynonna’s voice boomed through the bay and before Nicole could really react, she was wrapped in a big tight hug. She patted Wynonna’s back as the other woman squeezed her way too hard for comfort.

«Alright, alright.» Nicole muttered.

Dolls was looking proudly at her, his hands clasped behind his back. Eric was programming the robotic arm to place the speeder back on the rails.

It was just the three of them there. Nicole did her best to hide her disappointment to not see Waverly there. She supposed that Waverly had to do what she had to do to make it through this night. Nicole had after all left her weeping in the armoury.

«Sir» She said as she turned to Dolls and handed off the transportation box.

«Great work, Haught.» Dolls relieved her of the box and smiled proudly at her. «Now, shower and then sleep. We’ll do the full debrief some time tomorrow.»

«Aye, aye, sir.»

Wynonna followed just a few steps behind her as she made her way to the armoury first. She had left a some fresh clothes there. Always the planner she had prepared for this scenario. This way she didn’t have to climb all the way through the ship to get her clothes only to climb all the way down to the showers again.

Wynonna kept hovering around her. Earp had never been any good with hovering; she was all awkward energy and uncertainty when it came to providing care for anyone but Waverly.

As Nicole used her shoulder to push the door to the Armoury open she glanced at Wynonna.

«Earp, I’m fine. You can go.»

Wynonna stopped in the doorway, looking uncertain as well as slightly uncomfortable.

«You sure?»

Nicole dumped her gun on the table and kicked off her soaked boots. «Positive»

Wynonna nodded once. «You did good, Haught.»

«Thanks» Nicole forced a smile. «Now go make sure we make it out of here unnoticed so you idiots don’t undo all my hard work.»

«Who are you calling idiots, idiot.» Wynonna muttered as she turned to leave, but Nicole did notice the small smile on her lips. She truly had chosen a weird best friend.

Nicole let the water run for way longer than she should, but after what she had pulled off today she figured she deserved to be a bit selfish and was allowed to take a long shower.

As soon as she had stopped running the chill had set in. She had after all spent hours in the cool night air while soaking wet.

Before she had gone to the shower she had poked her head into the Greenhouse. Other than the ladybugs who fluttered up as the stream of light from the hallway spilled into the room, it was empty. Part of her wanted to dash through the ship in search of Waverly, but she could only assume that she was well aware that Nicole had returned. Her absence was probably on purpose.

It was quick work getting dressed after she had finished her shower: she silently thanked past-Nicole for packing only a pair of sweat pants, a t-shirt and socks. She really didn’t need anything else on her climb through the ship.

She walked in a daze through the quiet ship; through corridors, climbing up ladders and walking up stairs. Finally she was in the officer’s hall.

She instinctually just grabbed the door handle. In that moment she remembered that she had forgotten to lock her door. Now she was glad for it. That just meant that she could collapse in bed sooner.

She pushed the door open and quickly closed it. The door har hardly slammed shut behind her before someone crashed into her, sending her back a step and into the door.

Waverly pulled her into a hug, standing on the tip of her toes to be able to wrap her arms around Nicole’s neck. Nicole melted into the hug, burying her face in Waverly’s neck, breathing in her scent of her hair as she wrapped her arms around her.

They stood like that for a long time, just breathing each other in. When Waverly pulled slightly back, Nicole did her best to plaster a nonchalant but warm smile on her face.

«Hi» She whispered at Waverly.

«Hi» Waverly whispered back. Her beautiful eyes, that were in this moment a deep green, were brimming with tears. «You came back.»

«Of course I did» Nicole said softly as she pushed some of Waverly’s hair back, letting the strands run through her fingers.

Waverly pulled her into a kiss. It started off slow, but quickly started building. Their first kiss had been a desperate one. A kiss between two people who might be seeing each other for the last time and had too much left unsaid between them.

A desperation was building in this kiss as well, but a desperation of a different kind was taking place among them. It was a kiss to ensure this was real. They needed to be flush against each other, they needed to feel the other’s hair between their fingers, needed to inhale the other’s scent and taste the other on their lips. It was a kiss to ensure that this was true, that this was real.

Nicole was alive. She had survived.

Waverly deepened the kiss, pulling Nicole’s lower lip between her teeth and running her tongue along it, asking for access. Nicole happily granted it and forgot all about being tired.

Her hands had a mind of their own and roamed all over Waverly’s back and into her hair, pulling her closer.

When she ran her hand over Waverly’s lower back, she let out a small gasp and arched her spine to press into the touch. It set Nicole’s entire body on fire. And suddenly Waverly was pulling at the hem of her shirt.

She summoned what little self restraint she had left and broke off the kiss, pressing her forehead to Waverly while her own hands wrapped around hers, holding them in place.

«Waverly, are you sure?» She searched her face, looking for any sign of hesitation or uncertainty.

Dark, hungry eyes stared back at her as Waverly let out a quick breath and said:

«Yes» as she moved in and captured Nicole’s lips again.

The last remnants of restraint faded away. With no effort Nicole lifted Waverly off the ground, the younger woman’s legs wrapping around her waist as she carried her over the floor to put her down on the dresser.

Nicole was alive. She had survived and she had managed to steal the transmitter. She was alive and Waverly Earp was kissing her and pulling at her clothes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we've arrived at a point where we try our hand at smut.  
> I am a smut-writing-virgin so you know. I can't even really believe that I am posting it. I half expected to chicken out at this point.  
> But here we are. I am sure you want to skip to the smut so Imma just leave it at that.
> 
> Is it kinda creepy of me if I write "I hope you enjoy!" on the smut-chapter..?  
> ... Never mind I don't want to know.
> 
> PS: I'm going away to visit family this weekend, so probably will not update until next week. But maybe if we're lucky I find the time to finish up the next chapter and post it sometime this weekend.

* * *

Waverly really had intended to let Nicole go to sleep. It was really supposed to be a kiss just to make sure that she was really here and that this was real. But when they had kissed Waverly needed to feel more, so she had wrapped herself tighter around Nicole.

It still hadn’t been enough, and as Nicole’s body reacted and her strong hands started roaming all over Waverly’s back and sides she couldn’t stop her own body’s reaction.

She needed more, she needed to feel all of Nicole, skin against skin, she needed to feel her lips move across her body, she needed _more._

Nicole had stopped to ask her if she was sure. As much as she loved how Nicole always made sure that things moved at Waverly’s pace, right now it was borderline annoying. As if her body wasn’t screaming her intent.

Waverly had barely taken the time to nod her yes before she threw herself at Nicole again. Nicole responded in kind and lifted her off the ground. Waverly wrapped her legs tight around her waist as she kept kissing her, kept running her fingers through that glorious red hair.

Nicole placed her on top of the dresser, then ran her hands over Waverly’s thighs and hips, still careful not to overstep any boundaries Waverly might still have.

Waverly returned to her previous mission of ridding Nicole of the shirt. It didn’t take much urging the second time around before Nicole lifted her arms over her head and Waverly could pull it off.

She ran her hand over Nicole’s chest as she captured her lips again, cupping her breast and running her thumb over the nipple.

Nicole had returned her hands to Waverly’s thighs, but as Waverly’s thumb stroked over the sensitive nipple she hissed and moved her hands up, underneath her shirt. Those hands left trails of fire as they moved across her skin.

Nicole pulled her shirt off painfully slowly, letting her fingers rake over Waverly’s skin as she lifted the hem.

Waverly reached behind her own back to unclasp her bra. She didn’t trust that Nicole wouldn’t take an equal amount of time doing that, and the fire across her skin would only be quelled when she could finally feel Nicole pressed against her, no boundaries or barriers.

She felt her own hands trembling and hoped Nicole wouldn’t notice; she would just immediately assume that she was scared or nervous.

This wasn’t the first time Waverly had sex, it wasn’t even the first time she had sex with a woman.

There had been Champ back in Philadelphia, and then on her first tour on the Minerva she had met Rosita. The woman was responsible for her training in the bar, and let's just say that she was Waverly’s teacher in more ways than one.

Waverly’s hands were shaking with anticipation, not fear. She unclasped the bra and tossed it away.

Nicole’s wide, brown eyes travelled down her body, but it didn’t make her feel ogled like it had with Champ or make her feel insecure like it sometimes would with Rosita.

Her eyes were filled with awe and lust and it made Waverly feel like she was floating. Waverly ran one hand through Nicole’s hair, taking a fistful of it to steer Nicole into a kiss, while the other hand was placed on her back so she could pull her closer. Nicole wrapped her arms around her and finally Waverly could feel what it felt like to have all of Nicole touch her. Chest against chest, skin against skin.

Instead of quelling the trails of fire Nicole had left across her back, it ignited her entire body aflame. Waverly pressed harder, trying to bring Nicole closer, wrapping her legs tighter around her and deepening the kiss.

It wasn’t enough. She needed more. She pulled back slightly to start opening her own belt and pants. Nicole pulled back a bit to see what she was doing.

«Waverly, wait - wait - wait» Nicole said, pressing their foreheads together, planting her hands on either side of Waverly as she panted.

Waverly froze. «Are you okay?»

«Yeah, yeah» Nicole breathed, and opened her eyes to look deeply into Waverly’s. «Are you sure about this?»

Waverly pulled back a bit. «Are you?»

Nicole let out a quick, nervous laugh. «I want this, but I just want to make sure that-» She cut herself off, eyes darting across Waverly’s face, searching. «That you are sure.»

Waverly was about to frown when she caught something in Nicole’s eyes; there, in those deep brown orbs was a flash of insecurity.

It was such an odd look on Nicole; the strong soldier who just took on an Alliance Destroyer all on her own and survived.

The memory of what Nicole had said the night the Ghost Triangle was attacked. _I’m terrified that what you feel isn’t really real._

Waverly slowly placed her hand on the middle of Nicole’s chest. Her eyes were locked on Nicole’s. With a gentle push Nicole stepped back enough for Waverly to slide off the dresser onto the floor.

Waverly pushed some more, gently telling Nicole to keep walking. Without ever breaking eye contact, Nicole obeyed and stepped back until she bumped into the bed.

With a final gentle push, Nicole sat down on the bed. Waverly cupped her cheeks and gave her a kiss.

It was a soft kiss, a quick brushing of the lips that set her lips on fire. Still standing between Nicole’s legs, Waverly straightened and started undoing her belt.

Nicole’s eyes travelled down to gaze at your hands as you slowly unbuckled the belt. Her lips were parted and her breath heavy as she looked back down as Waverly opened the buttons on her pants.

Waverly pushed down the zipper. Slowly she pushed down her pants and Nicole swallowed heavily.

She stepped out of her pants and stood in front of Nicole completely naked. Nicole’s eyes slowly drifted across her body, drinking in the sight.

«Lie down»

Nicole obeyed, pushing back to lie down on the bed. Waverly climbed on top, straddling her. Then she leaned down and kissed her. A slow, deep kiss.

Finally Nicole started touching her again; the warm hands of Nicole traveled up her thigh, over her lower back, along her spine, down to cup her breasts. Warm hands that left fire in their wake.

Waverly kissed Nicole’s jaw, then down her neck. She trailed kisses and small bites down her neck, further down to her breasts. Waverly ran her tongue over first one nipple, then the other.

Nicole let out a low a quick gasp as Waverly sucked the nipple into her mouth and swirled her tongue around it.  
Satisfied with having elicited a quick gasp, Waverly continued her trail further down. She pressed kisses over the tight muscles in Nicole’s stomach. Waverly paused for a second on the scar from the gunshot.

A soft kiss was planted there, before she continued down.

Waverly pushed her thigh between Nicole’s, widening the gap so she could sit between Nicole’s legs. Then she brought her hands to the waistband of Nicole’s sweatpants.

Their eyes met as Waverly lifted her head, searching Nicole’s face for any hint of that insecurity.

All she found in those brown eyes was trembling anticipation and need.

Waverly pulled the sweatpants off, dropping the garment on the floor. She used her hands to spread Nicole’s legs and finally getting the full view of her.

Waverly ran her hand along her inner thigh, raking her nails over the skin as she leaned back up to kiss Nicole.

She brought Nicole’s lower lip into her mouth as her hand finished her trail toward’s Nicole’s centre. As she dipped her fingers into the slick wetness she found there, she gently bit down on her lip.

Nicole’s breath hitched and her back arced. Waverly entered her with one finger and pressed the heel of her hand to that sensitive centre. Nicole moaned into her mouth and Waverly couldn’t stop the smirk spreading over her lips.

After setting a slow pace of pressing her finger against the sensitive spot within as she applied more pressure to the hell of her hand, Waverly again started on her path down Nicole’s body.

She kissed her nipples, down her stomach, shifting down to get better access. She inserted another finger into Nicole, feeling the muscles there tightening at the sensation. Waverly placed Nicole’s thighs on her shoulders and kissed the insides of her thighs, slowly making her way closer to the goal.

As she lowered her mouth towards the little bud there, Waverly looked up at Nicole. She held those brown eyes as the finally tasted Nicole on her tongue.

Waverly moaned herself at the taste, and Nicole threw her head back and tensed her entire body gasping for air.

Waverly licked in circles, occasionally sucking Nicole’s clit into her mouth, sometimes pulling back to just touch the bud with the lightest of pressure.

Her fingers set a steady pace, massaging the spot inside there Waverly knew could make someone see stars.

As the climax started building Nicole started rocking her hips, desperately trying to get more pressure where she needed it to go over the edge. Waverly glanced up to find her holding her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself quiet and she moaned her pleasure.

Waverly gently coaxed her closer and closer to the edge. Nicole’s hand grabbed her shoulder, fingers digging into the muscle. Between the erratic breaths and low moans Waverly could sometimes hear her name being muttered almost like a prayer.

Fit one final push with her fingers and a few hard licks of her tongue Nicole spilled over the edge. Her body shook as the waves of pleasure hit her. Waverly licked her clit a few more times before she moved back up Nicole’s body.

Her fingers remained inside Nicole’s centre as Waverly traveled back up. Waverly kissed her nipples on the way up, leaving a few kisses on her neck before she captured Nicole’s lips again. She knew Nicole could taste herself on her tongue and she wanted to swallow every moan that came out of her mouth.

As Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly and rocked her hips as she rode out her climax. Waverly followed her pace, letting Nicole ride out the waves.

As the orgasm subsided, Waverly slowly pulled out her fingers, letting them circle the bud one last time before removing it completely.

Waverly moved to straddle Nicole again and sat up. Nicole closed her eyes as she tried to regain her breath.

Waverly wiped her hand on the sheet before she used her hand to wipe her chin. She watched at Nicole slowly regained control of her breathing, her eyes still squeezed shut.

«So you want to ask me if I’m sure again?» She whispered, a teasing smile spreading across her lips.

Nicole laughed as she opened her eyes to look at her. She sat up and wrapped her arms around Waverly.

«Alright» she said as she started kissing Waverly. «I’ll believe you.»

Nicole placed her hands on Waverly’s lower back, squeezing a bit as she brought her closer.

Again her skin was set on fire. Waverly buried both her hands in Nicole’s hair and deepened the kiss. She rocked her hips forward until she felt Nicole’s lower stomach provide some desperately needed pressure.

Waverly gasped and closer her eyes as she demanded more. She needed Nicole to give her more.

Nicole ran one of her hands over Waverly’s back, over her side and between her legs. As her fingers touched Waverly’s clit, Waverly felt her entire body tremble and then burst into flame. She rocked her hips forward, tying to increase the contact.

Nicole drew a few circles before she entered her with two fingers. Like a musician with its instrument, Nicole played all of her strings. Waverly moved her body to the melody, riding Nicole’s fingers as the music was building and building.

Nicole’s mouth was on her lips, her breasts, her neck. Waverly pulled her closer, deeper. She couldn’t get enough of the feel of Nicole’s skin against hers.

Waverly’s body was fire and the melody was building and building. Her entire body was humming to the melody as Nicole brought her closer and closer to the crescendo.

Like a hymn Nicole’s name spilled from her lips, sung like a prayer. As the crescendo reached its climax Waverly had to bite down Nicole’s shoulder to keep herself from screaming the chorus.

Her nails dug into the skin on Nicole’s back. If she had not dug her nails in, she was sure she would float away on the tones.

As she rode out the last of the notes, Nicole held her tight, pressing warm kisses to her neck, ear, jaw and lips.

«Waves»

Nicole’s whisper reached her in her sleep. Waverly came to as the redhead planted a kiss on her shoulder. She groaned and turned around to press her head into the nook of Nicole’s neck.

«Not yet» she said, her voice still thick with sleep.

Nicole chuckled. «We really should get up at some point.»

While trying to make the case for them to get out of bed, Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly and used her finger to lazily draw on her back. It was all in all a very counter productive move.

Waverly nuzzled in more. «‘is the wrong point. Not now.»

«It’s almost lunchtime.» Nicole whispered into her hair. «And I have to give Dolls a debrief.»

Waverly gently bit Nicole’s neck and pressed a kiss to the bite immediately after. «When do you have to do that?» She asked between kisses as she made her way towards Nicole’s lips.

«Well, he did say ‘sometime’» Nicole said with a smirk.

Waverly rolled on top of her.

«Later then» She whispered as she claimed Nicole’s lips in a deep kiss.

They missed lunch.

With the Stealth Transmitter safe onboard the ship, Purgatory shifted its course and sailed towards Asunción.

It would take them about four days to reach the city. After that they would continue on to Antartica.

When they arrived in Antartica, Waverly’s training would begin for real. Dolls would train her to be his Navigator and BBD would train her to become their soldier.

Finally, she would get the tools necessary so that Wynonna would not be the only one carrying their father’s legacy; the burden he had left them.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyy-o, bitches. I am back. So my weekend got a bit extended as of course I got sick. Don't worry; No COVID in sight, just the good ol' flu. That's what you get for hanging out with snotty little kids, I guess. 
> 
> This chapter is 90% plotless-fluff and 10% set-up. Since I'm still feeling a bit under the weather I decided to just write some fluff and save the angst for the next chapter. 
> 
> I blame any inconsistencies in the writing or any typos on the cough syrup. I'll go over it again tomorrow.
> 
> I do hope you enjoy and I am very glad to be back!

* * *

Waverly put the jeep in park as she came to a stop outside the stone cabin. It was clear that a party was still ongoing within its walls.

She closed the car-door and was about to head inside, when she heard the voices of her two targets coming from around the corner. They didn’t seem to have noticed her arrival, too busy bickering amongst themselves.

«They wouldn’t have thrown us out if you hadn’t cheated.» Nicole said drunkenly, heavily slurring her words and lisping.

«Psh, I didn’t cheat.» Wynonna huffed, equally as drunk but clearly more adept at being drunk than Nicole was.

Waverly rounded the corner in time to see Nicole grab Wynonna’s elbow and shake her arm.

«There are still cards in your sleeves, Wynonna!» She shrieked as she shook. A few cards fell out of Wynonna’s jacket.

«How did those get there? Who did that? Not me» Wynonna shrugged and didn’t even bother to fake a surprised expression.

Nicole was about to say something else, but her eyes landed on Waverly who was stomping towards them. She shot up from the bench they were sitting on and put the dopiest, most apologetic and cute expression on her face.

«You are so pretty and I like you so much!» Nicole blurted out, doing her best to physically manifest the apology she was about to give.

«You are drunk and in trouble!» Waverly scolded.

Wynonna glanced over and grimaced. «Waves? What the hell are you going here?»

«What do you mean what am I doing here?» Waverly said as she came to a halt in front of them.

Nicole was biting on her lower lip and stared at the ground, drunken shame and fear of being yelled at etched into her face.

«What did you think I was going to do when I just get a message saying: ‘if you don’t hearfrom us within the next two hours, our last known location was the stone cabin in the Pensacola Mountains’?!» Waverly hissed at her sister.

Wynonna frowned and shifted her unfocused gaze to Nicole. «Ugh, you’re such a narc, Red.» Wynonna groaned as she saw Nicole’s extremely guilty expression. «Why did you call her?»

«You dragged me into a jeep with a stunch of brangers. S’meone should know where we were!» Nicole said defensively, still slurring her words and lisping.

«But they had sugar!» Wynonna shrieked at Nicole.

_Sugar? What on earth were they doing here?_

Waverly shook her head. «You’re both sneaky, sneaky squirrels who are in equal amount of trouble, now get in the jeep.»

Nicole made an affirmative sound and started staggering forward, in the general direction of the jeep.

Wynonna crossed her arms. «No, I’m not done yet. These fuckers owe me some sugar.»

«Sugar, what the-» Waverly sighed deeply. «Get in the jeep, Wynonna. Now.»

Wynonna rolled her eyes but got up and walked towards the Jeep. She was much steadier on her feet than Nicole.

Between the two, Nicole was definitely acting more drunk than Wynonna. That didn’t necessarily mean she hadn’t been drinking as much as the redhead, Wynonna just handled her booze better.

Waverly finally managed to herd her two drunk cats back to the car. Nicole climbed into the backseat after Wynonna’s loud exclamation of:

«SHOTGUN!»

Wynonna slumped down in the passenger seat as Waverly got in the jeep, turned the ignition and started driving back to camp.

«Waves!» Wynonna suddenly barked, as if she suddenly remembered something. Obviously it hadn’t taken her sister long to get bored with being grumpy.

«What?»

«I have something really important to ask you.» Wynonna leaned on the armrest of the seat.

«Okay?» Waverly frowned as she glanced over her sister for a split second before she returned her eyes to the gravelly dirt. She had just recently learned how to drive this thing and it would really, really suck to damage it on one of her first solo rides.

«I’ve always wondered this and I just realised you are in the perfect position to give me the answer I need.» Wynonna said, and Waverly could hear the sly grin in her voice.

«Okay..?»

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she gently pushed on the brakes as she turned to see what her sister was doing.

Wynonna had a shit-eating grin on her face as she pointed at Nicole who had already fallen asleep in the backseat, face squished against the window:

«Doth the carpet matcheth the drapes?»

«Jesus christ…»

They had been on Antartica for five months as Purgatory had been dry-docked for its retrofitting. The crew knew that the ship was being retrofitted to give it more stealth capability, but very few knew that an actual Alliance Stealth Transmitter was being installed on the ship. That piece of information was strictly on a need to know basis.

Even though it was getting quite late, the sun was still out. When they first arrived, Waverly had been slightly worried about staying on one of the poles during winter. Though 99.99% of the ice had melted long ago, Antartica was one of the very few places on earth that sometimes would experience snowfall.

Dolls had informed her that Antartica was actually entering its summer months, while the rest of the world was entering autumn and winter. The world was truly turned on its head here on the bottom of the planet.

Waverly carefully drove the jeep down the path leading to the base. Antartica didn’t really have roads. The closest thing you got to roads was the paths that had been created around BBD’s base. Beyond that you were driving on the most stable part of the rock and gravel, weaving your way through the terrain as beast you could.

Wynonna was currently consuming some nuts that Waverly didn’t even want to begin thinking about where she had found, while Nicole was still sleeping in the backseat.

Waverly had started her training the moment they arrived in Antartica. Whenever he had time, Dolls would personally oversee her weapons and martial training. Whenever the Captain was busy, Nicole would step in for the Martial Arts while Doc would take over the weapons training.

Rita, the former now retired Navigator on the Neptuno, had taken care of her schooling in the art of Navigation.

It was a lot to take in. Not only was she put through a training regiment that put what little Nicole had been able to put her through on Purgatory to shame, Rita also insisted on Waverly learning to not only use the modern navigation and weather equipment, but that she would learn how to navigate a ship without any of those things as well.

To be honest, Waverly quite liked it. It was all about using old maps and reading the stars at night. But she much preferred the very intuitive instruments and readings from the modern Navigation systems.

She stopped the Jeep outside the gates, where two armed BBD soldiers checked their IDs before allowing them entry. They greeted her by name but still checked their IDs and the car for any contraband; it was standard procedure now that a highly classified build was being conducted on the site.

Antartica had been completely empty for a long time. BBD had been the first to try to colonise these barren islands. They placed their training facilities and shipyards along the shores and started setting up mines and refineries further inland. Since these lands had been completely covered by ice, the natural resources had been largely untouched.

Antartica was also undisputed lands because it was very hard to grow anything here. In a world where food and clean drinking water was the most precious commodity these lands didn’t hold much value.

But BBD had slowly over time made Antartica into a pretty decent colony. Through a lot of work and resources it had managed to become mostly self-sufficient when it came to food.

People from the countries under the BBD treaty had slowly started tricking in to help with the extraction of resources. Small communities had started popping out all over and had given themselves the demonym: Antarticans.

The Ellsworth base was the largest secure facility, especially now that the Ghost Triangle was destroyed, that still remained under BBD control.

The security at the gates were finally satisfied with the sweep and waved them through. Waverly slowly drove through the base towards the residential areas.

There were hundreds of small cabins that had been constructed out of what was essentially scrap, but through BBD ingenuity the base had been made highly functional.

The majority of the structures was made of old shipping containers that could be stacked on top of each other. They were stacked in clusters of four, each unit capable of housing sixteen people.

Each soldier got their own room, and had access to a small living room. In the middle of the four containers there was a communal kitchen they could use to cook their own food if they so wished.

Waverly drove past the barracks up towards the row of cabins for the officers. These too were largely made out of shipping containers, but they were not stacked on top of each other, but placed neatly side by side.

She parked the Jeep next to the other two vehicles that stood along the far wall of the outermost officer’s cabin.

Doc was smoking a cigarette out on the small porch in front of his cabin. Wynonna rolled out of the Jeep and started walking towards him.

She threw Waverly a big grin over her shoulder: «Thanks for the ride, baby girl! Now big sis is gonna go keep this party going.» 

With that her big sister strode over to Doc’s cabin, leaving Waverly alone to get the heavily inebriated Nicole to bed.

Waverly shook her head as Wynonna jumped up the two steps that led up to Doc’s porch, snatched the cigarette out of his mouth and took a drag herself. Her sister had a suggestive smile on her face as she said something to him.

Waverly had yet to fully comprehend the whole Wynonna, Doc and Dolls situation. Wynonna and Doc clearly had _something_ going on, but at the same time you had to be blind to not see the tension between the Captain and the First Mate.

The one time Waverly had tried talking to Wynonna about it, she had gotten all weird and deflective about it.

As Wynonna and Doc disappeared inside his cabin, Waverly reached into the backseat and gently nudged Nicole from her sleep.

«Hmm?» She had an adorably sleepy smile on her face.

«We’re here» Waverly said softly, and tried to remind herself that she was supposed to be slightly mad at her for disappearing.

«Okay» Nicole said. With unsteady movements she pushed herself up into a sitting position and fumbled with the doorknob.

Waverly got out of the driver’s seat and opened the door for the redhead. Nicole managed to stand on her own feet, but Waverly held on to her arm as they walked together to Nicole’s cabin.

Nicole rummaged through her pocket and finally found her keys; her gaze was unfocused and movements unsteady.

«Let me» Waverly said and reached for the keys after letting Nicole try and fail to get the key into the keyhole.

Nicole stepped aside and leaned against the doorframe as Waverly unlocked the door and stepped in first. Nicole stumbled after and headed straight towards the bedroom in the far back of the cabin.

Waverly closed and locked the door. From the open bedroom door she could hear Nicole pick her boots off and heard the muted thud as her jacket and sweater hit the wall.

Waverly stepped out of her own shoes and hung her jacket by the door, then she walked over to the small fridge, got out the water jug and filled a glass.

When Waverly walked into the bedroom she found Nicole curled up on the bed. Waverly put the glass of water on the nightstand and reached for the blankets hanging over the end of the bed.

Nicole stirred when she tucked the blankets around her. Unfocused and tired brown eyes met her own and Nicole grabbed her hand and pressed it to her chest.

«Will you stay tonight?» Nicole mumbled, still that adorable lisping and slurred words were present.

Technically Waverly had her own quarters down with the crew. She shared a crew cabin with Chrissy, Jeremy and Hannah, but she could count on one hand how many nights she had actually slept in her own quarters since their arrival.

«Only if you tell me what the two of you were doing up there.» Waverly arched her eyebrow at the redhead.

«Shhh» Nicole put a finger over her own lips and in her drunkenness exaggerated her expression. «It’s a secret. Wynonna will kill me if I tell you.»

Waverly pushed a few strands of bright red hair from Nicole’s face. «Why do you need sugar? Are you building a secret bomb or something?»

«Has Dolls been teaching you how to make homemade bombs?» Nicole asked with a frown.

«Don’t try to change the subject.» Waverly poked Nicole’s bicep.

Nicole put on another exaggerated expression, this one of frustration. «I promised Wynonna I wouldn’t tell you and I really can’t keep secrets from you so shhhh.»

Waverly couldn’t hold on to the last remnants of her anger. Yes, she had been really stressed when Nicole had contacted her a few hours ago. Yes, she had been really worried during the hour and a half long drive to get to the Pensacola Mountains. And yes that worry had turned to annoyance as she found them drunk off their ass bickering like an old married couple.

But she knew all too well how easy it was to get dragged into the crazy whirlwind that was Wynonna’s ideas and Nicole was an incredibly cute drunk.

She would trust that Nicole would tell her eventually what was going on. For now at least.

«Hmm» Was all she said back at the redhead.

«Will you stay?» Nicole looked very cute, a slight pout on her lips. In her drunkenness she was entirely unable to keep the pleading frown from her face. It was too cute to be mad at.

«Of course I will stay.»

Waverly chucked a fresh t-shirt at Nicole, hitting her square in the face. The Security Chief was still fast asleep; laying on her stomach, one arm hanging over the side of the bed.

As the t-shirt hit her, Nicole lifted her head from the pillow and snorted. The immense hangover Waverly knew she would be feeling immediately became apparent on Nicole’s face. She groaned loudly and hid her face between the pillow and the t-shirt.

«No, no, no, you don’t get out this easily. You were the one who suggested we go jogging together today.» Waverly said.

Schadenfreude usually wasn’t her preferred method of entertainment, but she had to admit that this sure was just the tiniest bit fun.

«It is too early.» Nicole’s tired voice was muffled from behind the t-shirt.

Waverly pulled the blankets off Nicole. At some point during the night she had undressed to her underwear. «Its 9am, you’ve usually been up for two hours at this point. Come on»

Nicole groaned again as she rolled over on her back, still using the t-shirt to cover her face. «I feel like I’m dying.»

Waverly laughed and pulled the t-shirt from Nicole’s grip; it earned her a scowl.

«This could be classified as torture, you know.» Nicole muttered as she squinted her eyes against the bright light in the room.

«What is it you always tell Wynonna? ‘Exercise is the best cure for a hangover’?» Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand as gently tugged on it. «Come on, sleepyhead.»

With one quick tug of her arm, Nicole had pulled Waverly back into the bed and rolled on top of her.

«I know an even better cure to a hangover» She whispered, her voice low and raspy as she kissed Waverly’s neck and jaw.

Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist, a smirk spreading over her own lips. «Do you now?»

«Mhm» Nicole nodded as she slowly kissed a trail to Waverly’s lips. «I can show you» She murmured against her lips.

Waverly kissed her back for a few seconds before she pulled back. «Okay, but only if you brush your teeth first, because I can literally taste the whisky.»

«Deal»

It was closer to lunchtime when they finally stepped out of the cabin. Waverly had still pushed Nicole to go on a run with her.

Nicole was still hungover, but even so she managed to keep pace with Waverly. Normally Nicole could run in circles around her, so Waverly enjoyed finally having the upper hand. They jogged out of the compound and up the gravelly hills of the Ellsworth mountains.

Antartica was a barren landscape. The ice had really only left behind rocks and gravel. You didn’t really see anything green on Antartica, even now. And it was still cold most of the year. Cold, extremely windy and barren; that’s Antartica for you.

Waverly had led them up an especially steep hill. Their feet sagged deep into the gravel adding extra weight to every step.

Nicole had pushed Waverly up this hill many times over these last months as part of her training. It was time for some payback. After this Waverly told herself the schadenfreude-fun would end after this last one; the redhead had suffered enough.

«Okay, you win» Nicole panted as she came to a stop about halfway up the hill. She put her hands on her hips and heaved for air. «I give up.»

Waverly took a few more steps before she turned to look at Nicole with a big smirk on her face. «Already? We’re barely halfway, Haught.» She ran in place for a bit just to demonstrate to Nicole how she was barely winded at all.

Nicole sat down in the dirt and grimaced. «Yeah, yeah, I know I know»

The gravel crunched underneath her sneakers as Waverly made her way down to Nicole and crouched in front of her.

«Oh, I’m being very mean, aren’t I?» Her voice was dripping with sweetness.

«Just a little bit, but yes a little bit mean.» Nicole shrugged, putting on a faint pout and trying to look innocent.

«Oh, I’m sorry, baby» Waverly gave her a soft kiss before she pulled back. «We’ll tone it down a bit. We’ll head back and do some martial arts training instead.»

Nicole let herself fall back in the gravel as she groaned.

«You need to be quicker, more precise.» Nicole said.

Waverly had taken quite quickly to martial arts. She was getting quite proficient at it. Granted, Nicole, Wynonna and Dolls could still whoop her ass if they wanted to, but at least now she put up a fight.

Dolls had recently taught her to disarm someone holding a gun to her head. She had pretty much mastered the moves whenever the gunman was just aiming at her.

This particular scenario they were practising has really thrown a wrench into her progress.In this scenario the gunman had their arm around her neck and pointing the gun to her head.

She knew what she needed to do, she could hear Nicole and Dolls’ voices overlap in her head as she mentally went over what they had told her:

First, redirect the line of fire. You do this by placing your hand on to of the gun and pushing it down. All you need is an inch of two so even if the gun goes of, the shot will miss.

Second, gain control of the gun. You do this by placing your hand on the rear of the gun, securing your grip on it. Now you’re holding the gun with both hands and have directed the line of fire away from yourself.

Third, free yourself from the choke hold while disarming your assailant. You do this by pushing back with your hips while you’re pushing forward with your hands. If you’re doing it right, you will break out of the grip and have disarmed them of their gun which you can then point back at your assailant.

Problem was that Waverly had no line of sight and this was a manoeuvre that required some strength. Her strength had increased by a lot over these last months, but she was still tiny compared to most of the people she trained with.

Dolls and Nicole had assured her that strength had little to do with it and that it was all about precision and technique. _Easy for them to say, they don’t have the curse of being petite._

«I’m trying» Waverly said through gritted teeth. Mostly she was annoyed at herself.

She had been quite proud of her progress these last few months. Even Wynonna, in her very strong reluctance to let Waverly become a soldier, couldn’t deny that she was turning into a good one. It was frustrating to feel like that progress was suddenly stagnating because of something that really should be simple.

She readied herself as Nicole placed her arm around her neck and held the gun to the side of her head. Waverly took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and mentally went over the steps again.

Forcing herself to relax she exhaled and grabbed for the gun. She managed to place her hand on the top of the gun and press it down. The frustrating click as Nicole pulled the trigger on the training gun reached her ear. She guessed from the direction of the sound that had this been a real bullet, it would have shot her through the neck.

«And you’re dead» Nicole said, confirming Waverly’s suspicion.

«Damn it» Waverly growled and stepped out of Nicole’s grip.

«Hey» Nicole said, a reassuring expression on her face. «You’ll get it. This is a hard one to get out of. Even I struggle with it sometimes.»

Waverly ran her hand through her hair and looked back at Nicole. «I doubt that.»

«No, seriously. Disarming someone of their guns are a very dangerous sport. It’s hard and requires a lot of training.»

Waverly stepped into Nicole’s space and wrapped her arms around her waist. «I know. It’s just frustrating, you know.»

«Babe, you’ll get it eventually.» Nicole cupped her cheek and Waverly tilted her face up to kiss her.

As Waverly kissed Nicole she mentally clocked exactly where the training gun was. With newly gained, quick movements she pulled away from the kiss, spun around, grabbed the gun and with precision disarmed Nicole. Holding the gun with one hand, she wrapped the other around Nicole’s wrist, twisted underneath the redhead’s arm, forcing the arm behind her back and pushing Nicole into a hunched position.

She finished up the series of manoeuvres with aiming the gun at Nicole’s head. The click as the training gun was ‘fired’ was a bit more satisfying now. This was a set of movements she had actually started to master.

«And you’re dead.» Waverly smirked.

Nicole laughed, the surprise on her face melding with pride and amusement. «Very good. Though I can’t say I’m a fan of you using seduction on other people to disarm them, but I assume I’ll have to cope as long as you come back to me at the end of the day.»

Waverly let Nicole go and handed the gun back, with a wink. «I’ll save all my seduction for you.»

«You better.» Nicole smiled back. «So, that win put you in the mood to try the choke disarm again?»

Waverly nodded and turned so Nicole could put her arm around her neck again. After a few times she did manage to redirect the line of fire, but Nicole managed to regain control over the gun before she could disarm her. Whenever they went over it slowly, Waverly would get it. But when they were doing it full speed, she always ended up dead.

Waverly was saved from having to give up when Nicole’s communicator piped up.

«Hey, Nicole. Do you have time to pop by Purgatory?» Valdez’ voice sprang from the device.

Nicole pulled back from Waverly and headed over to respond. «Yeah, sure. Give me ten.»

Purgatory was dry-docked. It was weird seeing the full size of the ship. The topside had been retrofitted with stealth material; dark grey, matted sheets of metal at uneven angles to throw off any radar signals.

The previously sleek lines of Purgatory was now replaced with odd angels and slightly bulky metal.

Waverly had decided to tag along. She was due for simulation training with Rita after lunch, so she needed to head over to the shipyard regardless.

Since she was one of the few people ‘in the know’ about the stealth transmitter, she was given access to the engines.

Together they climbed the ladder up onto Purgatory and made their way down to the engine. They greeted the guards outside the doors to the engine room and stepped inside.

The Chief Engineer, a man called Omar, was desperately trying to rearrange the tools that had been spread out over the entire engine; Valdez moved through the engine room like a hurricane capable of rivalling Wynonna’s.

Nicole gave him a sympathetic look as she passed him and made her way further into the engine room towards the engine computers.

Rachel Valdez was kneeling on top of the engine, the sleeves of her overalls tied around her waist, her white t-shirt dirty from sweat and work. She was tightening a screw with a concentrated frown.

«So I’ve managed to integrate the transmitter to the computer without fucking over the fuel manifold timer, but - oh, hi Waves! - But I can’t quite get the turbo trigger to cooperate.» Valdez started.

Waverly couldn’t decode half of what she was saying, but that was quite common when she was in a conversation with Valdez.

The first time she meet Rachel she had been very surprised at how young she was. At 17 she was the youngest official member of BBD. Her mother had been a pretty well known science officer, and Rachel had inherited her mother’s smarts, but her true genius was with engines and tech.

Give Valdez a brand new piece of tech or engine and five minutes and she would pick it apart and learn all its dirty little secrets.

Originally, Valdez had been part of the research and development team here in Antartica, but had been reassigned to Purgatory for the retrofitting and installation of the Stealth Transmitter.

Waverly couldn’t say she was thrilled to know that they were bringing a teenager into dangerous waters, but after seeing Valdez working with the engines, she knew that they needed the young mechanical genius if they wanted to have any chance at taking out Bobo.

The Transmitter was made specifically for Alliance engines, and even after stress testing the system, they would need someone who could deal with any unforeseen problems that might occur.

Since Valdez was really the only one able to install the thing, she was also the only one capable of actually maintaining and ensuring the continuing functionality of the foreign technology as it was being put to use.

Nicole frowned and climbed up so she could get an overview of whatever Valdez was doing to the ship’s computers.

Though Nicole was not a trained mechanic, she knew enough to at least have a clue as to what Valdez was talking about. In addition, she was the only one who had any real knowledge of the Stealth Transmitter and how it worked on an Alliance ship.

Nicole and Valdez had spent many hours down here in the engine, brain storming and working together to get the thing installed.

«Didn’t we install another node?» Nicole asked as she cocked her head at the tangle of wires and tubes around the small chip that apparently would hide them from enemy detection.

«Yeah, but we still have to run the transmitter through the main computers. The turbo trigger really doesn’t like anyone intruding on its space. The transmitter is trying to tell the engine to be quiet-» Valdez began.

«While turbo just wants to scream and shout.» Nicole finished as she nodded.

«Exactly. It really doesn’t like the transmitter.»

«Can we try to code in an override? If we need to pop Turbo, the transmitter should just be shut down.»

Valdez rolled her eyes. «Yeah, that was the first thing I thought of, but they don’t run the same code, and I don’t read Alliance B-S.»

Nicole climbed up on the engine and Valdez scooted a bit to give her some space. «Right, so you want me to try to translate?»

Waverly looked up at the two. Valdez really looked up to Nicole, and Nicole had in turn taken the young genius under her wing. It really was very endearing.

As much as she enjoyed watching the mentor and mentee exchanges between the two, they were speaking a language she couldn’t even begin to decode herself.

«I’ll leave you to it.» Waverly said.

Valdez waved at her and Nicole gave her a warm smile as she looked up from the small screen she had been handed.

«Talk to you later, babe.»

Waverly blew her a kiss and started heading out of the engine.

«The two of you make those old rom-coms look bleak.» Valdez muttered at Nicole who shushed her and told her to focus.

Waverly suppressed a wide smile as she made her way out of Purgatory and towards the training facilities close by.

Someone gently rubbed her shoulder and coaxed her from her sleep. Waverly squinted up at Nicole and felt a smile spread over her lips.

«‘morning» She mumbled as she pulled the blankets tighter around herself.

«Happy birthday, Waverly» Nicole said with a smile as she pressed a kiss to the top of Waverly’s head.

Waverly jerked awake. Honestly, she had completely forgotten about her own birthday. It hadn’t really been a time of celebration the last couple of years, mostly just Gus doing her best to cook a halfway decent dinner and giving Waverly a chocolate bar.

The days and months had really just melted into each other and Waverly hadn’t really bothered to keep a track of it all. Nicole apparently had not let time slip her by, and had remembered her birthday after Waverly had mentioned it once long ago.

«Oh, thank you» Waverly said, unable to keep the surprise from her tone.

Nicole narrowed her eyes. She was still leaning over Waverly. «Waverly Earp, did you forget your own birthday?»

«Kinda?» Waverly grimaced.

«Should I be worried that you have an unhealthy obsession with training and BBD?» Nicole frowned a bit and pursed her lips.

Waverly laughed and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s shoulders. «No, its more that time flies when you’re having fun.» She pulled her in for a good morning kiss. Or a happy birthday kiss. It didn’t really matter, all that mattered was that she wanted to kiss the redhead.

«Oh, I see» Nicole chuckled against her lips, but quickly lost herself in the lazy morning kisses.

Waverly was not quite finished with the kissing when Nicole pulled back, and she pouted to make the point clear.

Nicole either ignored her or didn’t notice. «I do have a gift for you.»

Waverly sat up in bed. Nicole opened the top drawer of her nightstand and brought out a small, rectangular package wrapped in brown paper.

«We don’t really have any proper wrapping paper, you know the pretty kind, but I did what I could with what I have.» Nicole handed the gift to Waverly.

Waverly slowly unwrapped the paper to reveal a small black box.

«It’s not the most romantic gift ever. I did try to get a hold of something else, but Antartica isn’t really flush with exotic goods.» Nicole rubbed the back of her neck as the words spilled out of her.

Waverly opened the box reveal the knife within. Her memory immediately flashed back to their trip to the market in Ancrapolis, when Nicole had stopped at the knife stand.

The blade was beautiful Damascus steel and the hilt was black. Waverly took it out of the box and wrapped her fingers around the hilt. The knife wasn’t too big. About two thirds the size of the one Nicole usually wore. But it was the perfect size and weight for Waverly to use.

«I know knives isn’t your thing, but you never know when you need a good knife and since you’re walking around on your own, it would make me feel a bit better knowing that you’re armed at least.» Nicole grimaced. «Or not… I don’t… Well, you know. You hate it. You hate it don’t you?»

Waverly looked away from the beautiful pattern on the blade and at Nicole.

«Nicole» Waverly gently placed the knife back in the box, placed the box on the bed next to her and pulled Nicole in for a quick kiss. «I love it.»

«You do?»

Waverly pulled back and picked the knife back up. «I’ve never owned my own weapon before. It is very exciting.»

A slow smile spread over Nicole’s face, washing away the nervous tension and replacing it with relief. «Well, it suits you.»

«I still prefer shotguns though.» Waverly teased.

Nicole nodded once. «I’ll remember that for Christmas.»

Waverly laughed and inspected the knife again. For a split second she wondered if she should ask if Dolls was okay with this. Then she remembered that just a few weeks ago Dolls had cleared her for Doc to start training her with heavy fire arms.

If he was okay with her knowing how to shoot an assault rifle, she was pretty confident he would be okay with her carrying a knife.

Nicole got up from the bed. «Now rise and shine. The Captain has invited us over for breakfast to celebrate your first birthday in BBD.»

It didn’t take Waverly long to get dressed. Nicole helped her secure her new knife to her belt; or more accurately to the small of her back. The blade was small enough to not really be in the way back there, and honestly, Waverly thought it looked really cool to have a knife strapped to the small of her back.

They walked hand in hand over to Dolls’ cabin. Waverly knocked and a few short seconds later, Dolls opened the door slightly.

That ghost of a smile spread over his lips as he opened the door fully and stepped back. Waverly’s hand shot to her chest as a loud shouting of:

«Happy Birthday!» was aimed in her direction.

Inside Dolls’ cabin stood Wynonna, Doc, Jeremy, Chrissy, Nedley and Valdez. They all had wide smiles.

With a hand to the small of her back, Nicole pushed Waverly into the room. Wynonna stepped forward, holding a small chocolate cake.

«Look, Waves! Cake!» Wynonna lifted the cake up, so close that Waverly could smell the chocolate. «It would be even more delicious, if _someone_ wasn’t a chickenshit and sold us out when we tried to get some goddamned sugar»

She gave Nicole a pointed look and earned herself a small scowl in return.

Waverly smiled so widely her face hurt. «I love chocolate cake.»

«We know» Nicole said.

«Come on, I’ve been drooling over this shit for days now, get a move on and blow out the candles so that we can get to eating.»

«Make a wish.» Nicole reminded her as she inhaled.

Right at this moment, Waverly couldn’t think of anything to wish for. She was with her new family, who had all gathered and taken time out of their morning just to celebrate her and her heart was too filled with love to think about worrying about Bobo and the Revenants in this moment.

With a quick exhale, she blew out the lights on the first birthday cake anyone had ever made for her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am back! Sorry for going MIA there, I had a very bad flare up of my CFS. But I will hopefully update this more regularly from now on. Depends on if my body decides to cooperate with me.  
> I am dead set on finishing this story, but sometimes my body just doesn't want to be nice. 
> 
> Enough excuses! I've given you a chapter to breathe, so lets bring back the drama shall we? 
> 
> Enjoy!

Waverly woke as Nicole rolled out of bed. Instead of getting up she rolled further into the blankets and moved to rest her head on Nicole’s pillow. It smelled like her.

As she continued dosing she heard the sounds of Nicole’s morning routine; she got in the shower, got dressed, then walked out to the small kitchen, started brewing coffee and making some breakfast for them.

Waverly was entirely too aware of how Nicole spoiled her. A cup of coffee was usually delivered to her while she was still in bed and when she finally untangled herself from the blankets, a delicious and nutritious breakfast was ready for her.

The smell of coffee was the thing that drew her from her drowsy state more so than Nicole’s soft footsteps across the wooden floors.

Waverly rolled over on her back and smiled. «Coffee»

Nicole sat down on the edge of the bed, a cup of freshly brewed coffee in her hand. «Well, good morning to you too.»

«Gimme gimme gimme» Waverly held out both her hands and motioned for Nicole to give her the cup.

Nicole rolled her eyes with a smile and handed off the cup. Waverly took a big sip, knowing that Nicole would have waited until it was the perfect temperature for immediate consumption.

«Hmm» she purred happily. «Good morning, baby.»

Nicole leaned in and kissed her. «I actually have to run. Valdez wants us to test the new nodes we put up.»

«Okay» Waverly said as she took another sip and sat more up in bed.

«Breakfast is ready for you.» Nicole said as she put on her jacket.

«You really are the world’s best girlfriend.»

Nicole smiled proudly at that. She walked over to the bed again and gave Waverly another kiss. «Good luck on your certification today, baby.»

«Thank you.»

«Hit all the bullseyes for me.» Nicole smiled over her shoulder on the way out the door.

«You know I will!» Waverly cooed after her.

She finished her coffee while trying not to get nervous about the certification.

Waverly closed the door behind her. Summer in Antartica was cold. Waverly was used to summers being excruciatingly hot. She had yet to decide if she missed the heat.

She pulled her jacket around herself and made her way to the shooting range. Today was the day she was going to do the tests to see if she could be certified to shoot with an Assault Rifle. The certification was necessary for her to serve on a BBD ship.

Her preferred weapon was of course the shotgun; quick, brutal and good at short ranges. But she understood the necessity for her to know how to use a more ranged weapon.

If she had to judge herself she would say she was a decent shot. Not as good as Nicole or Wynonna, but not a bad shot either.

She greeted those who recognised her on the way there. Wynonna had joked that she was rapidly becoming the most liked person on Antartica. It really wasn’t that hard, it was all about just being polite and nice.

The shooting range was luckily indoors, so it was at least relatively heated. She took off her jacket and hung it by the door. She heard the muffled sounds of someone shooting. Through the thick bulletproof glass between the back hall and the shooting hall, she could see Doc doing trick shots for a few of the soldiers.

Wielding his revolver he hit the bulls eye each time; he hit when shooting from behind his back, with the gun upside down and even when his cowboy hat was covering his eyes.

«Showoff» Waverly muttered beneath her breath, but she had to admit it had impressed her something fierce when Doc had first done that.

She checked out an assault, a good number of bullets and safety glasses from the young soldier who was minding the armoury. Then she made her way into the shooting hall.

Doc had just finished his set of trick shots and was very theatrically bowing to the applause he was receiving.

Waverly walked up behind him and waited for him to finish revelling in the attention. Doc finally turned with a half-smile to Waverly.

«Mornin’, Waverly.» He tipped his hat at her.

«Good morning, Doc. Are you done?» She nodded towards his little audience.

«Yes ma’am. You ready to become certified?»

Waverly tapped the assault rifle. «Ready as I’ll ever be.»

The test involved dismantling, cleaning and reassembling the rifle. Then she had to shoot both stationary targets and moving targets. The final test was pop up targets where she had to identify whether or not it was a hostile or an innocent before firing.

Waverly had done well on the first two tests and Doc was preparing the range for the third when a howling alarm started sounding across the entire base.

It had only been a few weeks since Waverly had her emergency alarm training. This meant ‘Unidentified Vessel approaching’.

Doc sprang into action immediately. «Come on, Waverly» He barked at her as he jumped over the counter and headed towards the door.

«But what about?» Waverly asked, feeling stress well up in her.

«You might be gettin’ some field experience now, so congratulations! You’re certified to carry heavy arms. Now let’s get goin’»

Waverly ran after him, only slowing down to grab her jacket on the way out. Outside it looked like every single person in the base was on the move. All Waverly could do was focus on not running into someone or not being run over as she followed Doc’s black cowboy hat through the commotion.

Doc led her to the nearest weapon’s locker. He handed her a bullet proof vest, which she put on in a few seconds. It was a bit big for her, but it was better than nothing.

She had gotten training of what to do when the different alarms went off.

They had done ‘silent runs’, which basically just meant that Waverly was running around base, going through the motions on her own while Nicole had followed behind her with a stopwatch.

The first few times Waverly had done it she had felt so stupid, running around like a maniac while everyone else was going about their day.

Now she found that she much preferred the silent runs. All the noise and rapid movement around her made her anxiety flare up and her hand were shaking. In the back of her mind she heard Nicole’s voice:

_«That’s okay. Its why we train. Don’t you think I am terrified every time I’m about to go into battle? But if you train your body, your muscles and mind to remember what it is supposed to do, then you’re more prepared when shit hits the fan.»_

She took a calming breath as she stuffed a few more magazines into her combat vest. It didn’t really stop her hands from shaking, but she felt calmer; like she had gotten some control over her fear.

Her communicator sparked to life at the same time as Doc’s, transmitting Dolls’ voice to every member of the Purgatory crew:

«Attention Purgatory Crew. Take up battle stations around Purgatory. Your priority is Purgatory. Chief Haught, I want you with the forward team.»

«Copy, Captain» Waverly could hear that Nicole was moving rapidly.

«Come on!» Doc said and they continued moving through the camp. They ran past guns coming online and soldiers running to get in position.

As they ran into the shadow Purgatory that was towering above them, Waverly caught the glimpse of Nicole’s flaming red hair. She fought the instinct to run after her. Her least favourite thing in all of this BBD-stuff was that Nicole always seemed to stand on the front lines.

«You know the way from here?» Doc asked over his shoulder. Waverly nodded.

«Good. I am sure it's nothing. But be careful.» He said as he headed in a different direction.

Her battle station was in the bridge. As a navigator she wasn’t needed on the frontlines unless it was as a last line of defence and Purgatory was rigged for emergency launch, so if the worst came to worst, they would try to make a run for it.

She knew that in this very second Valdez was down in the engine, waiting for the smallest indication that she should disconnect the stealth transmitter and reconnect the turbo.

She also knew that Purgatory was under no conditions ready to pop turbo even if Valdez did those things flawlessly.

Nicole had admitted that there was at least a 15% chance that Purgatory would just explode if it entered Turbo in its current state. She hadn’t quite understood why that was, but she really, really hoped they didn’t have to do any of those things.

Dolls was already at the bridge, reading the screens and shouting commands into the communicator.

During her time in training Waverly understood just how much information had gone over her head each time she stepped onto the bridge. She had a bit more understanding as to why they had been so careful when she first came onboard.

The bridge showed information ranging from their exact location, fuel reserves, exactly how much munitions they had left and how many torpedoes was ready and armed. If an enemy agent stepped onto the bridge they would have so much information that would leave Purgatory vulnerable to attack.

Waverly ran over to the navigator’s desk and started mentally plotting viable ways out of the bay should the worst come to worst.

Then she turned to the radar. She expected to see the shape of a ship, but instead all she saw was a little blip on the screen. What she saw couldn’t be bigger than a small sailboat.

_All of this for a little boat?_

Waverly walked over to stand behind the controller’s chair as she scanned the horizon. All she could see there was the speeder containing Nicole and the forward team heading towards a sailing boat with a broken mast.

«You’re wondering why all the fuzz because of that.» Dolls said matter of factly. There was a bit of a lull in the constant noise from his communicator as the base had gotten in formation and was now just waiting for the pin to drop.

«It’s a common tactic used by the Revenants.» He continued in an even tone. «They leave out bait and draw us out, then fire when we reach it.»

Waverly nodded once and bit back the urge to yell at him not to send Nicole in first. Instead she gritted her teeth and watched as the speeder approached. It was too far out for her to see any details, but she could see shapes moving from the speeder onto the sailboat. She ignored the pit in her stomach at knowing that Nicole would certainly be leading the charge.

There were no gunshots, no torpedos blowing the sailboat out of the water, no commotion on the boat. A few tense minutes passed as they waited for any signs of what was going on. Then, it looked like they all returned to the Speeder.

Nicole’s voice was transmitted over the communicator: «One civilian brought aboard the Speeder. Returning to base. Dolls, you better come down here. Bring Wynonna and Waverly.»

Waverly jogged behind Dolls as they made their way through the base. The danger hadn’t been cleared yet, but a few of the soldiers had been relieved of their battle stations.

There had been something in Nicole’s voice that Waverly hadn’t been able to decode. Her anxiety was threatening to rear out of control, but she managed to keep it in check.

Wynonna was already standing down at the docks. The speeder was slowing down and making its way towards the edge of the dock.

Wynonna of course was not clad in any protective gear nor was she carrying an assault rifle.

«What the hell is going on, Dolls?» Wynonna asked impatiently.

Dolls placed a calming hand on her upper arm. «I’ll check.»

He passed them and went down towards the docking Speeder. Nicole jumped off the boat as she and Dolls spoke hastily. Two other members of the forward team jumped out and started mooring the Speeder to the dock.

Nicole said something to Dolls that made him turn his head rapidly and look at the Earp sisters, then he poked his head inside the boat. He straightened and said something to Nicole who nodded, then he jogged back up towards the Earp sisters.

«What is going on, Dolls?» Wynonna demanded. Waverly just nervously chewed her lower lip; she had a bad feeling about all of this.

Dolls remained as calm as ever, at this point Waverly was convinced that nothing could shake the man.

«The civilian they brought back…» He cast a glance over his shoulder. Behind him Nicole was helping someone who had their hands is shackles off the Speeder. «She claims to be your sister.»

«Our sister?» Waverly said in disbelief.

Wynonna was staring past Dolls, down at the woman on the docks. She had light brown hair and what looked like brown eyes. She looked thin, dirty and exhausted.

Wynonna took one, then two steps forward. Her face was white and she was staring at the woman. The woman looked around with frightened eyes.

«Willa?» Wynonna shouted. The woman’s eyes snapped to Wynonna and there was an unmistakable flash for recognition in her face.

«Willa!» Wynonna shouted as she sprinted down the walkway onto the floating dock. She crashed into the woman and hugged her tightly.

Waverly remained bolted in place. There was no sense of recognition in her as she looked at the woman. Waverly long since forgotten what her oldest sister looked like.

The woman - Willa - said something to Wynonna that Waverly couldn’t hear. Dolls placed a hand on Waverly’s back and urged her to move closer.

They walked down the walkway but she stopped a good number of feet away from Wynonna and the woman - Willa.

Wynonna pulled back from her and looked at Nicole. «Haught, get these restraints off her.»

«Not yet» Nicole said. «We have not yet assessed the threat-»

«Fuck that» Wynonna barked. «Get them the fuck off her now!»

Dolls took a few steps forward. «Earp!» he barked.

Wynonna twirled around to face him, positioning herself almost protectively in front of the woman.

«Security Chief, escort her for a check up. Then to a holding cell for-»

«You’re not putting my sister in a damned cell.» Wynonna said and stepped into Dolls’ space.

Dolls stood his ground, but set his piercing eyes on Wynonna. «This is a highly secure base. Your sister just drifted into a secure location and you want me to believe that was entirely accidental?»

«What exactly are you accusing her of?»

«I am not accusing her of anything. Yet.»

«Fuck that»

«First mate!» Dolls said sternly. «Get yourself together. I understand that you are emotional right now»

«Fuck you and your sexist bullshit» Wynonna snarled.

«This has nothing to do with your gender. Your sister just came back from the dead. You are not thinking clearly.» Dolls waited a moment to allow his words to sink in. «We need to assess her threat level. This is no different to how we treated Waverly.»

For the first time since she arrived here, the woman - Willa - moved her gaze to Waverly. Waverly couldn’t quite place what she saw there but it sent shivers down her spine. She tried to suppress it and did her best to offer Willa a smile. It didn’t quite succeed and Waverly knew it probably looked more like a strained grimace than a smile.

Waverly’s eyes moved to Nicole. She was doing her job; continuously watching the new arrival to look for any sign of her making a threatening move. As if she could feel her eyes on her, Nicole shifted her own gaze to meet Waverly’s. She gave her a look of worry and sympathy. Waverly looked away.

«Fine» Wynonna snarled. «But I go with her.»

Wynonna had already started moving past Dolls, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. «No, not yet. You can visit her after Anna’s completed her check up.»

«Damn it, Dolls!»

Dolls just gave her a stern look. After a tense couple of seconds of a staring contest Wynonna threw her hands up in frustration then turned towards Willa.

«I’ll find you soon. When all this bullshit is over. Don’t be scared okay? You’re safe now.»

Willa just nodded.

Dolls motioned for Nicole to escort Willa away. Nicole and Willa started walking. Her oldest sister’s eyes were cast down on the ground as they passed Waverly, while Nicole gave her a last look before they walked away from the docks.

Dolls waved for Waverly to come closer. Mindlessly she obeyed.

He took another deep breath. «I need you to tell me exactly what happened with your sister.»

«I don’t remember any of it.» Waverly mumbled.

Wynonna crossed her arms. «Bobo and his fucking revenants attacked our homestead. They shot daddy dead on the spot and took Willa. They said she was dead.»

«Who are they?»

Wynonna shrugged. «Some fucking idiots.»

«Wynonna»

«I don’t know okay? They sent out a search party. They said there was too much blood. There was no way she could have survived losing that much blood.»

«So you never saw her body?» Dolls remained calm against the storm of annoyance and rage that was Wynonna.

«No, we didn’t see her fucking body!» Wynonna was verging on rage, clearly impatient to follow Willa. «They thought maybe they had just dumped her when they sailed out of the bay, but they never dredged it for the body.»

«How sure are you that this is actually her?»

«I know my sister, Dolls.»

«But how sure are you?»

Wynonna threw her arms up. «I know my fucking sister. But if you are too scared then fucking do a test. Anna can do a DNA test can’t she?»

«She can. We’ll start there.» He took a step closer to Wynonna. «We have to be careful with this, Wynonna. Even if she is your sister, we don’t know whose side she’s on yet.»

Wynonna had that set look of defiance on her face. It was clear that none of the words were sinking in.

«Its my fucking sister, Dolls.» Wynonna shoved past him. «Come on» She said to Waverly.

«Wynonna, I can’t.» Waverly said weakly.

«What do you mean you can’t?»

Waverly couldn’t bring herself to look at her sister. «It’s too much. I just… I need some time.»

Wynonna looked at her for a moment before she scoffed. «Fine.»

Her sister stormed off in a hurry, leaving Waverly and Dolls alone on the dock.

«Are you okay?» Dolls asked quietly as he moved closer.

Waverly nodded. «I just need to get my shit together.»

Dolls nodded. «I’ll give you a few days off from training.» He gently squeezed her shoulder before walking away, leaving Waverly alone with her thoughts.

Waverly slumped down on Nicole’s bed and curled up under the blankets. She stayed there, just staring out the window up at the cloudy sky. The clouds drifted lazy past the windows.

There was no way for her to know how much time had passed since she had returned to Nicole’s small apartment, but many clouds had passed out of sight by the time she heard the door unlocking and Nicole stepping in.

She heard Nicole rummaging around in the other room; kicking off her boots and hanging up her jacket. The redhead entered the room. Without saying anything she unclasped her utility belt, leaving her gun and knife on the nightstand before she climbed into bed and wrapped her arms around Waverly.

Waverly turned within her embrace and hid her face in the nook of her neck, red hair tickling her nose. Normally she would get Nicole to move her hair, but now the light tickling sensation grounded her.

Nicole didn’t say anything, just held her. Perhaps Nicole expected her to weep. But she couldn’t, she didn’t even want to.

When your sister returned from the dead you should behave like Wynonna. You should be exploding with emotions, any emotion. You should weep with joy. You should feel _something._

Waverly felt nothing. She was entirely numb to it all. She had hardly remembered her.

To her, Willa was a concept. A person that existed entirely in stories. She had a handful of memories of Willa; none of them good.

In her later years, after Wynonna had left, Gus had confirmed Waverly’s suspicion that Willa had not been very kind to Waverly. So she had preferred to think of other people’s version of Willa. The wild, fun girl that Wynonna would sometimes talk about. Waverly had chosen to remember the construct of Willa she had made out of the stories others had told her.

As she laid there in Nicole’s arms, there was a feeling that started to grow in her: Dread.

Her sister was back from the dead. She should be happy. But all she could feel was dread. That made her a horrible person, didn’t it?


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for you kind words and "Welcome back"s. It means a lot. 
> 
> I'm feeling a bit better these days, so managed to write another chapter. Strike while the iron is hot, isn't that what they say? 
> 
> I will give a trigger warning for this chapter. It does have mentions of rape. I will mark the section clearly so that anyone who wants to skip it can and leave tl;dr at the end of the chapter for those who wants to skip that section, just so you don't miss any important information. That part will of course not have anything triggering in it.
> 
> In this chapter we've practised writing tension. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

«Do we really have to go over this again?» Willa’s voice was hoarse and weak.

Wynonna leaned forward and squeezed her hand. «I’m sorry, but they need to hear you tell it.»

«But I told you, can’t you just tell them?» Willa’s eyes landed on Dolls and Nicole who stood a bit to the back of the room, quietly observing the conversation.

«I’m sorry, Willa. It is protocol.» Wynonna lowered her head, clearly uncomfortable with pushing her sister like this.

Waverly sat next to Wynonna. The three Earp sisters were seated around a table; Wynonna and Waverly on one side, Willa on the other.

Waverly didn’t really want to be here, but Wynonna had asked her to and she was already a terrible person for how she was feeling about Willa, so she should at least show up if Willa needed and wanted her there.

Willa took a deep breath and pulled her sleeves down over her hands, then she nodded.

Wynonna sat back. «Can you tell us what happened the night you were taken?»

«They came at night» Willa began, her voice shaking. «Daddy managed to get off a couple of shots. I ran out to help but someone grabbed me. They told daddy if he didn’t surrender they would shoot me. He tried to put down his weapons and surrender but as soon as they had him they took me anyway. They were dragging us away when… when you…»

Wynonna stared at the edge of the table and just gave a short nod.

«When daddy was dead, they dumped him, and they were going back for you.» Willa continued, a hint of desperation visible in her eyes. «I couldn’t let them get you, Wynonna. So I fought them. Managed to get a knife and sliced at any hands that came near me.»

«Which explains all the blood» Wynonna said at Dolls.

Dolls regarded Wynonna for a moment before he turned to Willa and softly said: «Please continue, Willa.»

Willa glanced for a moment between the Captain and First Mate, before she continued: «They managed to knock me out. I held out long enough, I just needed to fight to make sure that you… And I did. I did.» Willa nodded mostly to her self, glancing first at Wynonna then at Waverly.

Wynonna reached over the table again with both her hands and held Willa’s. «You saved us, Willa.»

Waverly forced a smile at her oldest sister, the insincerity leaving her feeling hollow.

***The next section might be triggering for some readers, it is safe to read on after the next horizontal line.***

* * *

«They brought me to his ship. Bobo’s ship…» Her voice started shaking. «And he… He…»

«Does she really have to explain what happened next?» If looks could kill, the one that Wynonna sent Dolls would have murdered him on the spot. 

Dolls shook his head. He gave Willa a moment to collect herself before he asked: «When did you get away?»

«During the assault on the Ghost Triangle. We… a few other slaves and I were on a separate smaller ship. I don’t think he expected the base to be able to mount a defence as quickly as it did. The ship I was on got hit and started sinking. Our guards panicked, so I managed to escape the ship and swam to shore.»

* * *

Waverly shifted a bit in her chair. In the corner of her eye she could see Nicole looking at her. She glanced over and saw the faint wrinkle between her brows. Nicole held her gaze for a few seconds before she looked back at Willa.

«How did you find us?» Dolls asked.

«It was hard, but I managed to get to Asunción. There I heard rumours that BBD had a base in Antartica. I figured that was my best chance to get in contact with you.»

Dolls’ expression was hard to read. Waverly was unsure if he believed Willa’s story or not.

After a few seconds of silence Dolls finally spoke up: «It’s an incredible stroke of luck… Finding us like this.»

«What happened to your boat?» Nicole added.

Wynonna shot both of them equally stinging looks.

Willa turned to Dolls and Nicole. «I got caught in a storm a few weeks ago and the mast broke… I set out months ago with only a desperate hope to find back to my family. But I didn’t think I actually would find them here. I hoped to find BBD, so that they could contact them… And so that I could help.»

«Help?» Dolls tilted his head a bit.

«I want to help you take down Bobo, I overheard a lot. He was too confident with us, didn’t care what we heard. I want to help in any way I can.» Willa shifted her gaze to look at Wynonna. «I want Bobo dead.»

«We’ll get him, Willa, I promise you.» Wynonna turned to Dolls. «Happy?»

Dolls let out a slow breath. «Chief Haught»

«Sir?»

«Will you escort Willa back to her holding cell?»

«What?» Wynonna shot up for her chair and slammed her fist into the table. «You’re not locking her back up!»

Dolls remained calm, and looked at Nicole. «Go.»

«Fuck that, did you not hear a word of what she just say?!» Wynonna was about to move towards Dolls when Willa reached over the table and grabbed her hand.

«Wynonna… Its okay.» Willa said quietly. «I’m okay.»

Wynonna looked at her, tears of anger brimming in her eyes. «I’ll get you out. Soon. I promise.»

Willa stood up and followed Nicole out of the room.

«What the fuck, Dolls?» Wynonna burst the moment the door closed behind Willa.

«Calm down, Wynonna.»

«Calm down? Calm down, you dipshit?! She’s traumatised from behind held captive and you’re putting her right back in a cell?»

«Not for long» Dolls began. «If you just let me speak without chopping my head off.»

Wynonna frowned at him and scoffed. «Yeah, sure. Speak!»

«We can’t just let her run around unchecked.»

«She wants to help!»

«And we will let her, but we gotta be careful.»

«By holding her prisoner?»

«It’s what you did to me…» Waverly added quietly.

«Baby girl, that’s different»

«And it is not that simple.» Dolls cut through. «It’s a very different situation.»

«You saw her, Dolls. She is traumatised and she hates Bobo as much as we do.»

«I can see that, but BBD is already weak, I cannot take any chances. The Stealth Transmitter is almost ready, we’re sailing out again soon. What then?»

«We take her with us.»

«We are at war, Wynonna. We are already at lowered capacity. I don’t know if we have the man power to care for her.»

«We’ll both chip in, right Waves?» Wynonna looked at her expectantly.

«Yeah, of course.» Waverly said, though the dread that had taken up root in her chest burned at the thought of spending time all alone with Willa.

«And Nicole has nothing better to do than babysit Earps when we’re sailing.»

Dolls scratched his chin. «We’ll need to keep her under constant surveillance. During sensitive missions where I need all hands on deck both you and her will have to tolerate that she is locked up. I see no other way.»

Wynonna considered this for a moment. «Fine» She groaned. «But I get to be grumpy about it.»

Dolls’ expression turned into that ghost of a smile. «When are you not grumpy about anything that doesn’t go your way?»

«True dat.»

Dolls headed towards the door. «Until we set sail she is mainly your responsibility, Wynonna. I need Nicole to help finish training my Navigator.» He winked at Waverly as he passed her.

Waverly forced a smile.

«That’s not the only thing your navigator needs Nicole for.» Wynonna said under her breath with a smirk.

Waverly stood out on the porch leaning on the railing. A couple of huts over she knew that Willa was now free under Wynonna’s care.

Waverly had declined their invitation to join them in the hut, saying she was too tired. Which technically wasn’t a lie; she hadn’t really gotten much sleep at all the last night. Instead she had stopped outside Nicole’s door, unable to go inside. So she stood out here in the darkness, trying to not stare Wynonna’s door but always finding that her eyes made their way in that direction regardless of how hard she tried to avoid it.

Willa had gone through hell, and it was really unfair of her to feel this way. But she just couldn’t ignore the deep sense of dread. Which in turn made her feel guilty. All in all she was feeling like shit and she had been since Willa showed up.

She had finally given up and had just been staring at Wynonna’s door for what felt like forever when footsteps in the distance caught her attention.

Nicole was leisurely walking up the path towards her hut, her hands buried deep in her pockets to keep them warm. Valdez had needed some help with the transmitter, so Nicole had been working for the last couple of hours.

It didn’t seem that she had noticed that Waverly was standing on the porch. Instead she was staring up at the star light sky, a faint smile on her lips.

Waverly felt a brief relief from the dread as her heart fluttered a bit. She really could learn from Nicole and try to find the beauty in even the little things. But Waverly had always been one to worry, so she would instead look at her girlfriend; slowly walking up the path, the cutest dimples framing her smile.

Nicole stepped out of the light and saw Waverly standing out in the cold. Her expression changed into one of worry: «Baby, what are you doing outside?»

Waverly shrugged. «Oh you know… Just thinking.»

Nicole jumped up the two steps that lead up to the porch and slowly approached Waverly. «How are you feeling?»

Waverly considered for a moment to tell Nicole about the horrible dread she was feeling, that she wasn’t happy that Willa was back, that instead of being overjoyed that her sister was back just being in the same room as her made her skin crawl. But that would just show Nicole how horrible of a person she truly was, and the last person she wanted to think she was horrible was Nicole. So instead she just shrugged again and said:

«It’s a lot to take in.»

Nicole leaned against the railing next to her. «Yeah, I can only imagine.»

Waverly leaned her head on Nicole’s shoulder. They stood like that for a little while. It was cold this late at night, and that cold had started seeping into Waverly’s very core. Even with the warmth that leaning against Nicole provided she started shivering. 

«Are you cold?» Nicole asked quietly.

«I don’t want to go inside.» Waverly responded. «Not yet»

Nicole regarded her for a second before she turned and leaned her back against the railing.

«Well, come here then» She said as she opened her jacket and held it open for her.

Waverly couldn’t help but smile as she stepped into Nicole’s embrace and felt her girlfriend wrap both her jacket and her arms around her tightly. She always smelled of vanilla. It was Waverly’s favourite.

Waverly breathed in deeply and revelled in the warmth. It didn’t make the dread disappear completely, but it subsided it enough for Waverly’s chest to stop aching. And the heat helped with the shivering.

«Better?» Nicole murmured after Waverly’s shivering had stopped.

«Perfect» Waverly said back.

Nicole chuckled.

«But you are, you know» Waverly pulled back to look up at her. «Perfect.»

Even in the darkness Waverly could see Nicole’s cheeks turning red as she grimaced. «I don’t know about perfect.»

«To me you are.» Waverly said as she stretched her neck and kissed her.

Kissing Security Chief Haught always made her feel better. For a moment she could forget; she could forget about Willa, she could forget about dread and guilt.

After a good minute of kissing Nicole, Waverly finally found a good reason to go inside and started pulling on Nicole to get her to follow. Nicole chuckled against her lips and spun them around so Waverly could lead them where she wanted them to go.

«Oh shit» Nicole said abruptly looking at something behind Waverly.

Waverly spun around to see Willa standing there awkwardly staring at them.

«Willa?» Waverly stepped away from Nicole and crossed her arms.

«Where’s Wynonna?» Nicole asked.

«In the shower» Willa pointed behind her «I was just gonna look for Waverly.»

«Damn it, Wynonna.» Nicole said under her breath. «You okay watching her for a minute?»

Waverly just nodded and leaned back against the railing.

Nicole motioned towards Waverly as she passed Willa. «Stay with her.» The redhead disappeared into the cabin with a bellowing: «Earp!»

Waverly shifted awkwardly as Willa walked closer. Her oldest sister had strange expression on her face.

«Wynonna didn’t tell me you were a» Willa looked her up and down. «You were a gay.»

«I’m bisexual.» Waverly snapped at her.

Willa held her hands up, her expression now a bit bemused as she regarded her for a moment. «You’re not happy I’m back, are you?»

«Of course I am.» Waverly said it a bit too quickly, so she took a moment to collect herself before she met Willa’s gaze. «Of course I am happy that you’re alive.»

«Hmm» Willa pursed her lips slightly as she nodded.

Waverly’s anxiety now started doing battle with her dread. There was something off-putting with Willa. Waverly’s mind flashed back to the few memories she had of Willa; cold and mean. She tried to force them from her mind.

«Wynonna told me you’re training to be a navigator.»

«Uh, yeah… I wanted to help Wynonna fight Bobo.»

Willa leaned a bit closer. «So do I.»

Instinctively Waverly drew back. «That will go quicker if you follow the rules. I know it feel weird, but they are just taking all these precautions to keep you and us safe.»

Willa tilted her head and muttered: «From one form of brainwashing to another.»

«What do you-»

Wynonna burst out the door, half dressed and with two different shoes, in one hand she still had the towel which she used to furiously dried her hair.

«See, I’ve got eyes on her now» She barked at Nicole who followed right behind her. «Problem solved, no need to get your panties all bunched up.»

«You’ve gotta keep an eye on her at all times.» Nicole said exasperatedly. «If you need to shower then ask me or Waverly to stay with her until you’re done.»

«Yeah, yeah» Wynonna turned to Willa. «Come on.»

Willa gave Waverly one last look before she walked back to Wynonna’s cabin.

«I’ll watch her like a hawk, Haught. Scout’s honour.» Wynonna said as she closed the door behind her.

Nicole rubbed her forehead and sighed.

Waverly felt her heart racing in her chest, and not for any good reason. That trembling fear that had been so evident in Willa since she had arrived at the base had been entirely gone. All Waverly had seen in her eyes was that cold meanness.

Suddenly Waverly felt naked and vulnerable out here in the cold. «Let’s go inside.»

Willa had been here for three weeks and the dread had not gotten much better, Waverly had just gotten more used to it.

A lot had happened in those three weeks; Waverly had gotten all the needed certification to officially be sworn in as the Navigation Officer and Valdez, with Nicole’s help, had finally gotten the Stealth Transmitter and the Turbo on Purgatory to cooperate.

Of course Willa was oblivious to the latter and it had to remain that way, which was why she and Waverly were standing on the docks watching Purgatory and the Vannlilje sail out of the bay on their way to test the Stealth Transmitter.

Someone had needed to watch Willa, and since Nicole was the only one with any kind of knowledge as to how the Stealth Transmitter should work it was decided that Waverly would stay behind with Willa for the duration of the test. It shouldn’t be more than 24 hours… Waverly hoped.

«What are they doing?» Willa asked as they watched the ships gain speed.

«I told you, they’re testing some equipment.»

«But what kind of equipment?» Willa pressed.

«I can’t tell you, Willa. Not yet.» She added when she saw the hurt expression on her face.

«You don’t trust me.» Willa observed.

«It’s not about trust. We’re trying to keep BBD safe.»

Willa just shrugged. «I guess I’m just anxious to get my revenge.»

Waverly didn’t know how to respond so she just motioned for Willa to follow. «Let’s go.»

With Willa walking next to her Waverly cast one last glance over her shoulder at Purgatory growing smaller in the distance. She swallowed the panic of knowing that each second Wynonna and Nicole got further and further away from her.

The two sisters walked in silence all the way back to Wynonna’s cabin. They were staying there, Waverly didn’t want Willa in Nicole’s cabin. It was her sanctuary, the one place she felt safe these days and she didn’t want it disturbed.

Waverly unlocked the door and they walked in. It was cold, so Waverly started a fire in the fireplace. Willa sat in one of the armchairs, just watching her.

«Uhm… Are you… Are you hungry?» Waverly asked, not quite knowing what to do with herself.

«I could eat.»

«Right…» Waverly walked over to the cupboards and started going through them.

Contrary to Nicole, who had a cold box on the porch where she kept various produce for a healthy diet, Wynonna only had canned or dried goods. Canned beans, canned stew, canned soup. Though Waverly much preferred her and Nicole’s cooking, canned soup would have to do.

She found a pan and started heating the soup over the electric stove. The entire time Willa was just watching her from the armchair, like a cat watching a mouse.

«What was it like?» Willa suddenly asked, startling Waverly.

«What was what like?»

«What was it like after I died?»

Waverly faltered, unable to bring herself to look at Willa. «I don’t remember much.» She answered honestly. «I remember seeing the coffin. I remember there was crying. A lot of it.» For some reason her mind remembered something that made her feel good, and she couldn’t help the smile from spreading over her face, «Gus brought me chocolate, and I got to eat the entire thing.»

«Lucky you» Willa said dryly.

Waverly grimaced, feeling guilty that she had added that last part. «We all took it hard, Willa.» Waverly finally turned to face her sister, even if she still couldn’t bring herself to look at her. «Especially for Wynonna. I don’t think she ever really learned to live with it.»

«Shooting your father will do that to you.»

For the first time since they were left on that dock Waverly looked at Willa. Truly looked at her. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

«It was an accident, Willa. She was trying to save you.» Waverly said, not quite able to keep the anger from her voice.

«Yeah» Willa said coldly. «I’m sorry, I’m not hungry after all. I’m going to go lay down.»

Then she left, closing the door to Wynonna’s bedroom behind her.

The hours passed slowly. Painfully slowly. Waverly had delivered some food to Willa a few hours ago. She had been lying on her side, back to the door. When Waverly put the bowl of soup on her nightstand, she hadn’t even reacted.

Waverly checked on her one last time before she herself hunkered down for the night. Willa seemed to be sleeping, but Waverly left the door open. She was supposed to keep an eye on her, but the thought of sleeping in the same room as her made her skin crawl. Even trying to sleep out here was going to be difficult enough.

Waverly got a pillow and a blanket and laid down on the couch. She unhooked her knife from her belt and placed it under her pillow. She didn’t really feel comfortable having any weapons around Willa, but she had forgotten to leave the knife behind this morning and she couldn’t leave Willa alone.

So with the knife under her pillow and silence filling the cabin she tried to sleep. Tried and failed. For hours she felt that dread seeping through her entire body. Dread followed by guilt and sadness.

The hours passed her by and she grew more and more exhausted. She hadn’t been aware of it happening, but at some point she had drifted off despite the twirling dread and guilt.

Something woke her up. A creaking. Feet on wooden floor. She opened her eyes and couldn’t stop the startled shout from escaping her lips.

Willa was just standing over her, watching her.

«What the hell are you doing?» She hissed.

«I woke up. And I was alone. I was scared.» Willa’s tone was dead, entirely even. As if she was reading it from a script.

«I’m here. You’re not alone.»

Willa stood and watched her for a few more seconds, then she smiled a smile that sent shivers down Waverly’s spine.

«Good.»

Slowly she walked back to Wynonna’s bedroom and closed the door. Waverly knew she should get up and open it. That she should make sure she could keep an eye on Willa. Instead she got the knife out from under her pillow, made sure it would be easy to get out of its scabbard, and placed it by her side. She did all of this with trembling hands, thankful for the wooden barricade between herself and her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger free tl;dr: Willa was held captive by Bobo in the years following her capture. Willa managed to escape during the Battle at the Ghost Triangle by jumping from a sinking ship and swimming to shore.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one guys. Time for some more heartbreak and then I'll make it all better with loads of action.  
> This chapter got really long because I didn't find a good way to edit it into two chapters. So you know.. I just didn't.
> 
> Enjoy!

«We need to decide our next course of action.» Dolls said.

Waverly suppressed the urge to fiddle with her pen. This was her first strategy meeting as a BBD officer and fidgeting was not exactly authoritative.

Dolls, Wynonna, Doc, Eliza, Nicole and Waverly were standing in the bridge on Purgatory. It was finally back in the ocean where it belonged. Through the windows Waverly could see soldiers loading the ship with supplies, preparing the ship for sailing again.

«We put a big hole in Bobo’s skull and then we all get drunk.» Wynonna put her feet up on the table with a confident smile.

Dolls glanced down at where her heel was on the pristine paper of the map Waverly had laid out for them. Then he gently pushed her feet of the table:

«We need to be a bit more specific than that.»

Wynonna rolled her eyes. «Wasn’t this stealth transmitter supposed to be a magic cure for all our problems?»

«The stealth transmitter will help us get close to him, but we need to actually locate him first.» Nicole crossed her arms and leaned back against the console.

«Duh» Wynonna put her feet back on the table, this time bothering to glance at it to ensure that she didn’t place her dirty boots on the map. «The plan remains the same; We find Bobo, we put a big hole in his head and then we all get really drunk.»

Nicole rolled her eyes, then turned towards Dolls. «Taking out some of the smaller Revenant ships could provide both information and practise running the transmitter.»

«So after we’ve gone through all this trouble and cost to retrofit Purgatory and install the stealth thingamajig and then you’re going to risk it all taking out smaller ships?» Eliza frowned. «Shouldn’t that be delegated to a less important vessel?»

«We’re specialised in commandeering and boarding.» Nicole said.

Doc smoothed over his moustache as he looked over the empty map. «It is still a risky manoeuvre. They could blow the strike team out of the water if Purgatory is not close enough to defend it.»

«The transmitter will allow Purgatory to get closer to our targets than ever before. We’ve done riskier runs.» Nicole pointed out.

«We could be standing by. As backup.» Eliza offered up.

«A destroyer would be nice to have as backup. Big guns.» Doc grinned.

Nicole shook her head. «It’s too noisy. It would alert every single Revenant ship in the area that we’re there. You would have to be so far away that you couldn’t reach us even if you went full speed if things went tits up.»

«Nicole is right.» Dolls said. «We’ll have to go at this alone. Besides, the Vannlilje needs to coordinate with the rest of BBD. They’ve been fighting for six months. We no longer need protection at dry dock, so you should join the front lines while we sneak behind them.»

«It’s still a risky move.» Doc said.

«We’ve got a way to make it slightly less risky.» Wynonna said with a shrug. «Willa»

«I don’t know if we should trust her information.» Nicole muttered as she shifted uncomfortably.

«Since we’re all balls to the walls about going after them, would it hurt to ask her? Maybe she knows something that could crank down that danger levels just a smidge.»

Dolls placed his hands on the table and leaned against it. «We’re going after the Revenants regardless. We’ll hear what Willa has to say. But we won’t hinge our entire strategy on what she says.» He added when he saw the look Nicole gave him. «We’ll keep her in the dark for now, once we’ve located a target we’ll ask her but keep things vague."

«Great, so the plan remains the same. We find Bobo, we put a hole in his head and then we party.» Wynonna said with a grin and stood up to leave.

Dolls ignored Wynonna and turned to Waverly. «Navigation Officer»

Waverly jumped to attention. «Sir?»

«Chart a course due North.»

«Aye, aye, sir.»

Being back on Purgatory should have been something Waverly could be happy about. Not only was she back on Purgatory, but she was now an officer. The Navigation Officer to be exact. She should be walking around the ship with pride, being happy that she was finally helping, that she finally was a proper part of BBD.

Instead, she found herself dreading to turn a corner or enter the galley in case she bumped into Willa. Her heart started hammering and pain shot through her chest whenever she heard a door open in fear of seeing her oldest sister stepping through.

The only places she felt safe was in Nicole’s room, on the Bridge and in the Greenhouse.

Since Waverly too had gotten much more responsibility on Purgatory, she and Chrissy had divided the work in the Greenhouse between them.

Usually early mornings and afternoons were spent in the Greenhouse, tending the plants together. The best days was when their afternoons coincided with Wynonna being off her shift and able to take Willa off Nicole’s hands so she could join them as well.

Waverly certainly didn’t like that Nicole had to spend so much time alone with Willa. She wasn’t jealous, she just didn’t like anyone being around Willa really.

Alright, maybe she was a little jealous that Willa got to spend most of the day with Nicole. But mostly it was because she didn’t trust Willa.

The worst part was when Waverly was the one responsible for her like now. Nicole had the night shift on the bridge, so she would be sleeping until the afternoon.

Wynonna had pushed that Waverly should be the one that watched Willa that day. She had probably noticed Waverly’s aversion to being around her and had decided to force the issue.

She also made some fairly good points as to why it should be Waverly’s turn at babysitting their sister;

The only thing the bridge needed to do was follow the course that Waverly had already charted. The weather report had said that it should be clear skies all day, but there was a low pressure system to the east of them that Waverly didn’t like. She had decided to spend the hours she had to be with Willa in the game room, which faced east so she could keep an eye on it in case the winds shifted.

Willa was sitting in an armchair reading a book. The hours had passed slowly and neither of them had said anything. Occasionally Waverly could feel Willa’s eyes on her, and as usual it made her skin crawl.

Waverly was sitting on the couch against the window, keeping an eye to the East and mentally counting the seconds until Wynonna came to relieve her of Willa-duty.

The sun hung low in the sky when Willa gently closed her book, placed it on the side table and walked over to sit down next to Waverly.

Waverly instinctively curled into a ball, making herself as small as she could.

«Have I…» Willa began. «What have I done to make you hate me so much?»

Waverly felt her stomach drop. «I don’t. I don’t hate you»

«Then how come you can’t even look at me?» In this moment she sounded so small.

Waverly forced herself to lift her gaze and meet Willa’s tear-filled eyes. «It’s just… I hardly remember before. I don’t remember much of you.»

«You don’t remember us sailing? Living on the ship?»

Waverly shook her head. «And the things I do remember.» Waverly swallowed heavily. «The things I remember about you…»

Willa’s eyes were filled with that coldness again, but her voice… Her voice was thick as if she was on the verge of tears:

«So you are holding the things I did as a child against me now?»

«You threw me off a cliff!» Waverly snapped. «Saying it would teach me to swim. Saying it was that or sink.»

«That’s not… I didn’t.» Willa stammered in her thick voice, but the coldness was still there. As if the emotions in her voice couldn’t quite reach her eyes.

«I was four, Willa. If Wynonna hadn’t dived in after me I would have drowned.»

«I don’t…» Willa said with her cold eyes, though tears were now starting to stream down her face.

«What’s going on here?» Wynonna stood in the door, looking between them.

Willa covered her face with her hands. «It’s fine.»

«Waverly, what did you do?»

Willa dried her tears. «Wynonna, it’s fine.» She turned to Waverly. «I know I was horrible to you, Waverly.»

Waverly looked down at the floor; guilt, shame and dread were all battling for dominance within her chest.

«I hope to make it up to you» Willa said as she reached out to touch Waverly’s shoulder.

Waverly couldn’t stop her own body’s reaction before it was happening. She pulled away before Willa could touch her.

Willa stared at her for a few seconds before she let out a scoff, got up from the couch and walked out of the game room, past Wynonna who was slowly shaking her head at Waverly. The disappointment was clear on Wynonna's face.

«Wynonna…» Waverly began.

«She’s your sister, Waves. And she’s gone through some horrible shit. The least you could do is try.»

Waverly had stayed in the game room until it got dark, trying her best not to cry. She felt like the worst person in the world. At the same time she couldn’t shake how uneasy Willa made her. And now Wynonna was mad at her because of it.

Perhaps Wynonna was right? She hadn’t really been trying with Willa. That initial reaction she had to her oldest sister was the one that stuck. It was unfair.

If she had let first impressions stick she wouldn’t have Nicole. She wouldn’t be a Navigation Officer on Purgatory.

Old Alliance indoctrination had clouded her judgement when she first came onboard, she had been wrong then.

Perhaps she had let those old, bad memories cloud her judgement when it came to Willa. She at least deserved the benefit of the doubt when it came to who she was as a sister now.

Waverly made her way to the bar, found a bottle of whisky and went in search of her sisters. She looked in the galley and Wynonna’s room but couldn’t find them, which meant that there was only one other place they could be.

She climbed up through the super structure and found her way to the walkway on the side of the bridge. The laughter coming from the roof of the superstructure confirmed her guess that Wynonna had lead Willa out here.

«Ah, we got in so much trouble.» Willa laughed.

«How’re we supposed to know that the candy was part of the trade goods? What kind of tribe leader want caramels as payment?» Wynonna snorted as she laughed.

Waverly held the bottle under her arm as she climbed, it was a bit awkward so her ascent was slow.

«Those were good caramels, so I kind of get it.» Willa laughed a bit more before she grew silent.

«Damn good. Worth all the trouble.»

«It was a great life.» Willa said wistfully. «And then we had to leave because it wasn’t safe for Waverly.»

Waverly stopped climbing. She had made it about halfway up.

«Daddy was just doing what he thought was best for us.» Wynonna said. «Being out here on the ocean… It’s dangerous as shit.»

«Its not like being on land saved me.»

«You’re safe now. You’re here with me.»

There was a slight pause as Waverly contemplated if she should keep climbing or leave them alone.

«We were two peas, you and I.»

«We still are. Two peas in a pod» Wynonna said fondly. «And we’re back together again, out at sea, and this time we actually get to take part in the killing of filthy pirates.»

«That’s all I ever wanted. You and I, back together again. Just us.»

Waverly began climbing back down the ladder again.

Waverly had emptied half the bottle by the time Nicole entered the small room. Since Nicole had such a late start to the day, she had been busy until now.

Nicole’s worry wrinkle deepened to new depths as she saw the half empty whisky bottle.

«Waverly, what’s wrong?»

«Nothing» Waverly could hear how unconvincing she sounded.

«You’re pulling a full Wynonna on me here, something is clearly wrong.» Nicole said as she rushed over and kneeled down in front of Waverly. «Baby, what is it?»

Waverly shook her head as she started crying. Nicole pulled her in for a hug and gently rocked them back and forth.

«You know» Nicole said softly after a while. «You’re allowed to have a difficult time with her being back. It’s a big adjustment and it’s okay to feel whatever you’re feeling about it.»

Waverly wiped her nose with her sleeve. «I am such a horrible person.»

«No, baby, no.» Nicole kissed her forehead, then wiped her tears. «You’re the best person in the world.»

«I couldn’t even bring myself to comfort her. I just don’t…» Waverly shook her head.

«Hey, it's okay» Nicole said softly.

«And now Wynonna is mad at me.»

«Wynonna loves you» Nicole said firmly, as she put her hands on each side of her face. «She loves you more than anything. It’s just an adjustment.»

Waverly tried her best to stop crying. The full on ugly crying made her feel pathetic in addition to every other horrible feeling that was coursing through her body.

«I’m sorry» Waverly said after taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. «You’re probably tired and here I am drunk and ugly-crying.»

Nicole chuckled. «I will always be there for you. For as long as you’ll want me, I’ll stay by your side. Ugly-crying and all.»

Waverly let out a tearful laugh as she leaned forward and kissed Nicole. «Thank you.»

«Always»

**NICOLE:**

The entire ship was on high alert. There were Revenants in the waters around them. They were nestled in-between a small cluster of islands and the Stealth Transmitter seemed to be doing its job since they weren’t being peppered by air missiles and torpedos.

They had been trailing the ship for a good number of hours, waiting for nightfall to come. It was almost dark, which meant it was almost time for the strike team to set out and board the Revenant ship.

Nicole fastened the bulletproof vest first. Then she knelt down to put on the leg bracers. Guns were all well and good long distance, but more often than not boarding a ship devolved into hand-to-hand combat, so the proper protective gear was important.

A point which Wynonna clearly was missing. She shifted uncomfortably in the small bulletproof vest that Nicole had practically forced her to wear. It didn’t protect her stomach, but at least it would protect her heart and lungs from being pierced by bullets or knives.

Wynonna claimed that protective gear ‘hindered her movement’, but Nicole suspected that it was just that Wynonna had never really been fond of wearing any kind of restricting clothes. With the exception of leather pants.

She finished with the leg bracers and stood back up to put on the arm braces and elbow pads.

Wynonna readjusted the straps of the bulletproof vest again and grimaced. «Ugh, uncomfortable piece of shit.»

Nicole ignored her and fastened the bracers. She glanced over at Theo and Duncan, both of them had been personally trained by Nicole to be part of the strike team.

Revenant vessels at this size usually had no more than 15-20 crew members, and since the ship wanted to stay floating, many of them couldn’t leave their stations. That in addition to most Revenants not having much training in organised combat techniques, four highly trained infiltrators would be more than enough. Well, three highly trained infiltrators and the battering ram that was Wynonna Earp.

After finishing with the bracers Nicole stretched and shadowboxed a few moves just to ensure that everything was as it should be and her movement remained unhindered.

When she was satisfied she grabbed her gun belt and turned to address the team. Wynonna might technically be her superior officer on the ship, but when the boarding of a ship was about to take place, Nicole held command.

«We’ll approach the stern at a 60 degree angle. According to our intel as long as we remain at that angle autocannon turrets should not be able to target us.» Nicole kept her voice steady, doing her best to keep her own doubts about the intel from being obvious through her demeanour.

Wynonna and Nicole had questioned Willa a few hours ago, after they knew what the Revenant ship looked like. According to Willa, most Revenant ships of that size were equipped with autocannon turrets that were too heavy. They looked imposing up on the deck, but they were too heavy to be mounted on the back of the superstructure itself.

This left a blindspot at the stern.

«If this intel turns out to be bad-»

«Which it won’t» Wynonna interjected.

Nicole gave her a stern look. «If the intel turns out to be bad, we’ll switch to an Alpha-2 approach.»

«Which one is that? Dress up as ghosts and spook them?» Wynonna stretched her arms out and wiggled her fingers in a ‘ghostly’ manner.

«You just focus that aim, Earp. We’ll handle the approach.» Nicole pointed to the sketch of the Revenant ship that Dolls had made earlier. «We’ll approach the stern. The superstructure reaches all the way to the back. It’s a bit of a climb, but we’ll go up in pairs, providing cover for each other. Any questions?»

«No, ma’am» Theo and Duncan said in unison.

«One» Wynonna said. «If we end up in close quarter combat, will you remove that stick from up your ass and beat people with it?»

Nicole checked her equipment one last time before climbing into the Speeder. Once everyone was situated, Nicole brought opened a direct line to the bridge.

«Strike Team leader to bridge.»

«Bridge copies» Dolls responded.

«Strike team ready for deployment.»

«Copy that, getting in position.»

There was a pause before: «Prepare for black out.» Was sounded ship-wide.

Nicole muted the mic on her end so that they wouldn’t unnecessarily disturb the bridge.

And now the wait begun; first they would enter black out, then Purgatory would get as close to the Revenant ship as it could, and then they would be deployed.

The lights went out and darkness filled the docking bay.

«Night vision goggles on.» Nicole ordered.

The world around her came to light in a sheen of green as she put down and powered the goggles. She turned her head to find Wynonna making faces at her.

«Very professional» Nicole muttered under her breath.

«I do try my best.» Wynonna put her feet up on the dashboard, the assault rifle balancing precariously on her lap.

Nicole glanced over her shoulder at Theo and Duncan. They were seated at the back of the boat. She shifted her gaze to Wynonna who was leaning her head back against the headrest, eyes closed.

«So, you haven’t talked to Waverly yet.» Nicole kept her voice low.

It had been two days since she had found Waverly crying in her cabin. She did not like that Wynonna hadn’t cleaned up her own mess yet.

Wynonna didn’t open her eyes. «Now is not the time to air our dirty laundry, honey.»

«Until Dolls gives us the signal to go, we’ve got nothing but time.»

Wynonna groaned. «I’ve already got BBD on one side telling me that Willa is a danger to everyone and everything and that I’ve got to watch her at all times. Then I have Waverly on the other who looks like she’s in physical pain whenever Willa comes within 20 feet of her. At this point, Willa needs me more than Waverly does. Waverly’s got you.»

Nicole adjusted her gun holster. «Yeah, she does, but she also needs you.»

Wynonna went to rub her forehead, but bumped into the helmet and night vision goggles. «Stupid protective gear» She hissed. «And I know. I’m just stretched thin here.» 

«I know» Nicole reached over and patted Wynonna’s thigh. «Make it work, Earp.»

«You always give such impeccable advice.» Wynonna complained.

«I do try my best.»

«Ha-ha, very funny.»

Nicole grinned, then looked over at Wynonna with a stern expression. «But in all seriousness; I am pissed at you for how you treated her, and you better talk to her pronto or I’ll kick your ass.»

Wynonna tsk’ed at her. «I’d like to see you try.»

Before Nicole could respond her communicator transferred Dolls’ voice:

«Bridge to Strike team.»

Nicole unmuted her mic: «Strike team copies.»

«Purgatory will be in position in T-minus 30 seconds. Opening port side doors.»

With a hiss of the hydraulics the massive doors started opening and water filled the docking bay.

«Starting Speeder.» Nicole responded and started the ignition sequence. Next to her Wynonna sat up and worked on her half of the dashboard; radar, tracking system, missile alert system (MAS).

The Speeder engine jumped to life and the water behind the propeller started churning.

«Ready for deployment.»

«We go on your signal, Security Chief.»

The bulkheads came grinding to a halt. The ocean outside the boat was a bit rough; the waves higher than Nicole would prefer, but not so bad that they couldn’t go full speed.

Nicole muted her mic and looked at her team. «Ready?»

«Ready, ma’am.» Theo said. Duncan just gave a short, firm nod.

«Let’s fucking go!» Wynonna grinned. Nicole could already see the excessive amounts of adrenaline coursing through her veins.

«Hold on, it’ll be a bumpy ride.» Nicole unmuted her mic: «Deploying in 10, 9, 8»

Theo and Duncan settled low in the Speeder, holding on to the railing and keeping their heads down.

«7, 6, 5, 4»

Wynonna’s hand hovered over the clamp release controls. It was shaking slightly as she waited to the go signal. Nicole stood up and gripped the steering wheel tight.

«3, 2, 1. Deploy.»

Wynonna pressed the release button at the same time as Nicole pushed the throttle all the way down.

With a violent jerk the Speeder shot out from the docking bay and into the ocean. About two seconds later the MAS alerted them of two friendly torpedos shooting past them.

Small calibre torpedos aimed directly at the Revenant ship’s propellers; designed to take out the propeller blades but not damage the ship’s structure beyond what was absolutely necessary. Once they hit, all hell would break loose.

Nicole held her breath as the missile disappeared from the edge of the MAS’ reach. Seconds later an underwater explosion briefly lit up the stern of the ship. Nicole braced herself for the onslaught.

Exactly 6 seconds later the MAS alerted them of incoming enemy torpedo. Nicole quickly calculated its trajectory and started evasive manoeuvres. Already the bow propellers of the Revenant ship was working hard to turn the ship around. The MAS alerted her of another torpedo incoming.

Nicole cursed under her breath. The trajectory of this one forced them further to the right, which meant that they would be closer to the ship’s broadside, and out of this allegedblindspot.

They still had a good couple of hundred feet before they were even in range of the turrets, but Nicole was uncertain if she had enough room to manoeuvre without skirting the edge of the blindspot.

Nicole adjusted their course a bit and clenched her jaw as she waited. Her eyes darted between the ocean in front of her and the dot on the screen signalling the two torpedos.

«Haught» Wynonna said through gritted teeth, her voice barely audible over the sound of the engine.

«Almost» Was all Nicole said.

The MAS started beeping loudly.

«Haught!»

«Almost!»

The beeping grew in intensity and haste.

«Hold on!» Nicole shouted.

She pushed the throttle a fraction of an inch back, then immediately after pushed the left trim tab down at the same time as she steered hard to the right. The Speeder jerked to the right so violently that Wynonna almost fell out of her chair. She obviously hadn’t heeded Nicole’s advice.

Nicole pushed the throttle back down and adjusted the trim tab back to it plane position. Behind them a column of water shot up and sprayed over the Speeder, but the quick manoeuvring had left it undamaged. The second torpedo passed them on the left several dozen feet away from the Speeder.

Nicole let out a sharp breath of relief. Her guess had been correct; it was a proximity charge. She had just skirted the line of the proximity sensor, causing the torpedo to detonate without doing any damage.

Wynonna turned to look at the spray of water and howled giddily:

«You know, Haught. It’s when you do shit like that you make up for being so fudging lame the rest of the time!»

Nicole didn’t retort, focusing on getting back into the blindspot. They only had a few seconds before they were within the range of the ship’s turrets.

Behind them a dull boom echoed across the waves as Purgatory’s sea-wiz took care of the stray torpedo.

Nicole banked as much and as quickly as she could to get back into what she hoped was the blindspot, but she had underestimated how fast the Revenant ship could turn.

«Get down!» She shouted.

Not half a second later a round of bullets whizzed over their heads. Behind her she could hear a window shatter as a bullet pierced it.

Nicole checked their course. If Willa’s intel was correct, they would be back in the blindspot in less than two seconds.

Two seconds might not sound a lot, but it was an eternity when you were staring down the barrel of a gun that could fire up to 10.000 rounds per minute. Luckily said gun was rather inefficient and inaccurate at this range.

As they sped across the waves to what Nicole hoped was safety, she heard at least ten bullets ricochet off the kevlar padding on their broadside.

Again she held her breath. Now it was time to prove if Willa’s information could be trusted. She glanced down at the display making the 60 degree angle from the Revenant ship’s stern.

One last bullet ricochet off the kevlar padding before the Speeder crossed into what should be the blindspot. The bullets kept firing but hit only water. Willa had been telling them the truth.

Wynonna howled gleefully again. «I fucking told you the intel was good!»

Again Nicole refrained from responding. The danger wasn’t over yet.

They shot across the surface, the Revenant ship getting ever closer. Nicole eyed their angle relative to the ship:

«Earp, the hatch. Can you target any of their defences from this position?»

Wynonna opened the overhead hatch and climbed to stand in her seat, holding on to the handhold on the roof. The only confirmation Nicole got was a bark of a laugh and Wynonna bringing up her assault rifle and attaching the targeting beam to it.

The Targeting Beam was an ingenious system. The laser beam measured the distance from the Speeder to whatever the laser hit, then a computer on board the Speeder calculated the coordinates and sent them back to Purgatory. Purgatory could then use those coordinates to take out the defences on deck.

Nicole reached over and grabbed the back of Wynonna’s bulletproof vest to help keep her steady against the waves.

«Batter up!» Wynonna shouted.

Shortly there after the MAS alerted her of a friendly air missile passing over them. The bullets that had continually fired at nothing but water since they entered the blindspot suddenly stopped firing at all as the missile destroyed one of the autocannon.

«Aaaaand… Pull!» Wynonna shouted in an exaggerated British accent. Or at least her best attempt at one.

Another fireball curled around the side of the ship as the second Autocannon on this side was taken out by the missile.

«Hey, Nicole, can’t we circle them for a bit and just do this more?» Wynonna shouted over the engine as she slid back down in into the cockpit. «It’s super fun. Like playing golf with high tech equipment and explosives.»

«You’ve never played golf!» Nicole shouted back.

«Pft, semantics!» Wynonna said as she removed the targeting beam from her assault rifle.

They were rapidly approaching the stern of the ship.

«Theo, Duncan! Prepare the hooks.»

Behind her Theo and Duncan began preparing the handcannons to secure the grappling hooks.

«Wynonna, cover our approach.»

Wynonna climbed up, readied her assault rifle and kept a close eye on the roof of the superstructure. The roof was the only place they could come after them, but that also meant that they had to make the climb up on the roof.

It might take the Revenants a moment to realise that they planned on scaling the superstructure instead of coming around the other side and climbing up the broadside.

As soon as Nicole started slowing down and they came into range, Theo and Duncan fired the hand-cannons. These grappling hooks were sleek steel arrows made to penetrate armoured hulls. As soon as they pierced the hull, the arrowhead expanded so they could use it to scale the wall.

Duncan’s aim was a bit low and the right rope would not take them quite as high as Nicole would have wanted. She quickly made a mental note of ensuring that Duncan got more training with the hand-cannon.

The two men ran along the outside of the Speeder and secured one end of the rope to themselves and the other to the electric winches at the bow.

Nicole powered down the engine, leaving it on idle and grabbed her own rifle. She moved further back in the Speeder and steadied the barrel on the edge of the cockpit roof.

The winch whirred as Theo and Duncan started ascending up the side of the superstructure.

«Movement!» Nicole called out as she saw something move on the roof of the superstructure.

«Come to mama!» Wynonna shouted.

Nicole had expected them to fire bullets, but instead she saw small round objects being thrown over the edge down at them.

«Grenades!»

Theo managed to grab one out of the air and threw it to the side. Two landed on either side of the Speeder, while a third landed in the speeder behind Nicole.

Nicole threw herself after it, grabbed it and hurled it as far out to sea as she could.

«Get down!» She shouted and threw herself down, covering her head.

The grenade Nicole had thrown exploded in the air, while the two bobbing in the water shook the Speeder violently.

Nicole did a quick visual check to see if the explosions had done any significant damage. There was a small leak, but nothing to worry too much about.

«I am getting helmet-hair for this! The _least_ you could do is fight fair, you assholes!» Wynonna shouted as she got back in position.

As if summoned by Wynonna’s taunting a shower of bullets rained down on them. Nicole got up and returned fire.

Wynonna managed to get one, while the rest withdrew. Theo and Duncan was almost at the top. Nicole kept a close eye on the edge; this was the most vulnerable part of their assault.

The two men threw grenades onto the roof and covered their heads. Two consecutive blasts sent a Revenant sprawling into the air and off the side of the ship.

Theo and Duncan didn’t waste time and climbed up on the roof. Duncan struggled a bit more than Theo, given that he had to pull himself up from further down.

Nicole held her breath as Theo disappeared over the edge first, leaving him alone with any potential assailants. She didn’t hear any gunshots, which was a good sign. Duncan finally pulled himself over the edge.

The winch whirred again as Theo and Duncan threw them over the edge for Nicole and Wynonna to use.

Above them Nicole heard the exchange of gunfire. She moved quickly along the sides of the Speeder towards the ropes. She wanted to ensure that she got the difficult climb.

Next to her Wynonna hooked herself onto the other rope. They shot up the side of the superstructure. Nicole heaved herself up as quickly as she could.

«I really shouldn’t have skipped arm-day» Wynonna groaned from next to her.

«Wynonna» Nicole said as she pulled herself up on the roof, proud that even though her climb was more difficult, she had managed to do so quicker than Wynonna. «You’ve skipped every day.»

Wynonna made a face at her but focused as soon as bullets started flying around them. They ran to cover and together the four of them quickly dispatched the last two Revenants down on the deck of the ship. There would be more Revenants inside.

Nicole felt her heart start racing. They would’ve had time to prepare. The reason BBD called them Revenants was because of a drug they took when they entered combat. It was a harsh drug that wreaked havoc on your mind and body, but it sent them into a state where they could keep going after taking damage that would have dropped an average person.

The Revenant culture was one of glorious combat and death, and their reckless drug abuse left them a dangerous foe. The Revenants they had just faced probably didn’t have time to shoot up the drugs. The next ones would’ve.

Their goal would try to take one of the officers prisoner for interrogation. Nicole highly doubted they would be successful. In all her years out on the sea, both with the Alliance and BBD, she had never experienced taking a Revenant prisoner. They fought until they had to be put down. But they would at least try.

Nicole ordered Theo and Duncan to clear from the right, while she and Wynonna went left. They climbed down a ladder and flanked the bulkhead door.

«Ready?»

«Fuck yeah» Wynonna grinned as she pulled out a flash bang and pulled the pin.

Nicole opened the door, there was bright light coming from inside. They pressed themselves against the walls as bullet whizzed past them. Wynonna waited for a pause in the salves before throwing in the flash bang.

«Fire in the hole!» 

Nicole turned her head away and closed her eyes just for safety’s sake. As soon as the flash went off, Nicole pushed the night googles away from her face and went inside.

The inhuman growls and shouts deafened her for a moment as she opened fire. It took four bullets to down the first Revenant coming running towards her, the second one opened fire and Nicole pressed herself against the wall to be as small a target as possible.

«Yo ho ho, and a bucket full of headshots!» Wynonna shouted down the hall. She had put away her assault rifle in favour of her gun. The second Revenant fell with a bullet lodged in his skull.

Nicole couldn’t deny that she was an annoyingly good shot, even when shooting one-handed with her revolver like now.

Nicole pushed forward. Further down the hallway four more Revenants came crashing into view. They were all drugged out of their minds, clambering past each other to get to the threat.

Nicole dropped another; this one took six shots. The Revenant behind the fallen one fired of a shotgun.

Nicole threw herself against the wall again, but let out a growl through gritted teeth as she felt some of the buckshots hitting her leg, hip and shoulder. Just shallow flesh wounds but they stung like a bitch.

«Hey fuckface!» Wynonna shouted at the one with the shot gun. «The only time its cool that Haught gets shot is when she’s rescuing me!»

Nicole didn’t have time to wait for her to be done quipping and fired a round of bullets down the hall. The Revenant with the shotgun dropped, but the ones scrambling down the hallway behind him were coming too close too fast. Nicole pulled her knife and sprang into action.

«You know, Earp» She began through gritted teeth. She deflected the first blow, and sliced him up the side.

«You don’t»

Dodge, then an elbow to the face.

«Always»

She dodged a second too late and took a punch to the jaw, but quickly countered with a knee to the groin and a stab with her knife.

«Have to»

Evade, deflect another blow, three consecutive slices with her knife ending with a stab.

«Quip»

Behind her a gunshot went off. Good, Wynonna had finally decided to do something. The shot hit the last Revenant in the shoulder, Nicole rammed against him, driving him back and pushed him off his feet. Then she finished him off with a curb-stomp.

«When we’re in combat.» She finished and glanced over her shoulder at Wynonna.

Wynonna stood there with a dopey grin on her face. «I’ll be honest, I’ve been struggling to get what Waverly sees in you» She gestured down at the Revenants Nicole had carved through and then back up at Nicole. «Now I’m starting to get it.»

«How about we focus on the actual combat?»

Quick as lightning Wynonna aimed her gun and fired in Nicole’s direction. She could hear the bullet whiz past her, inches from her face. Behind her the heavy body of a Revenant hit the ground.

«Careful!» Nicole hissed.

«Oh please» Wynonna scoffed as she started walking towards Nicole. «I was trained by Doc Holliday. I could hit a penny from a hundred yards.»

Nicole just rolled her eyes and put away her knife. The hallway opened into a T-section around a dozen feet away from them. The Assault Rifle would be too big and difficult to handle at close quarters, so Nicole pulled her handgun instead.

She kept close to the wall and crept forward, Wynonna walked leisurely behind her. Nicole glanced first to the left, that hallway lead to a bulkhead that would lead to the open deck of the ship. She quickly shifted side and aimed her gun down the hallway, only to find it empty.

Signalling for Wynonna to follow she started down the hallway to the right. Further down she saw an open door.

On the opposite side of the ship a fierce gunfight was taking place. She hoped Theo and Duncan were alright.

Nicole turned to Wynonna and signalled the plan using hand signals. Wynonna shrugged and frowned.

«I have no idea what you’re trying to say.» She hissed.

Nicole rolled her eyes again and whispered: «I’ll flash bang, then we go in, you take right, I take left.»

«Why didn’t you just say that?»

«Because then they might-» Nicole sighed and pulled the flash bang out of her belt. «Just stay on my six, then go right after the big flash of light.»

They crept up to the door frame. Nicole pulled the pin and threw it in through the door. She turned her back to the door frame and again closer her eyes to ensure that she too wouldn’t be blinded.

As soon as the flash went off, Nicole stepped into the doorway. Whatever or whoever she had crashed into sent her flying backwards into the wall. It felt like being hit by a truck. Her gun flew out of her grip.

The Revenant that stepped out of the doorway was massive. Nicole had barely gotten her wits about her when he lifted her up by the vest and threw her further down the hallway, his heavy footsteps thudding after the trajectory her body made.

«Holy shit!» Wynonna shouted and emptied the magazine of her gun in his back.

Because of his sheer mass and height, she couldn’t get a decent shot at his head.

Nicole scrambled to her feet and drew her knife. The massive Revenant kept coming towards her. He was swinging a goddamned machete. Nicole ducked under it. Sparks flew off the wall as it impacted.

«A little help here, Earp!»

«I’m trying!» Wynonna shouted from somewhere behind the Revenant.

The Revenant swung again, and Nicole deflected and countered with a slash to his bicep. Any sober person would have lost the grip on the machete. The Revenant hardly showed any signs of feeling pain.

«Any time, Earp!» Nicole jumped back as the Revenant jabbed towards her.

The sounds of scuffling footsteps and a dull impact reached her ears. «Kind of have my own problems over here, Haught.»

Okay, so she was alone against this mountain of a man. Nicole jumped out of the way of another swipe of the machete and slashed at the back of his arm, then she dodged under the back swipe.

The Revenant roared in frustration and pushed forward, he grabbed onto whatever part of Nicole he could. He got a hold on her shoulder strap and lifted her off the ground. She needed to keep that damned Machete away from her vital organs.

She managed to wrap her ankles around his elbow and arm and stretched as far as she could. The blade of the machete dug painfully into her thigh, slicing through the fabric and skin. It hurt like a motherfucker. Luckily it had only cut into muscle.

Nicole roared against the pain and drove her knife into his neck. Even Revenant Drugs couldn’t do much against good old fashioned blood loss.

Nicole impacted the wall with immense force. Had she not been in so much pain, Nicole would have thanked past Nicole for remembering the importance of wearing a helmet in these situations.

She drew on her last reserves of energy and pulled the knife back and stabbed him again, this time in the other side of the throat.

With a heave the Revenant pulled his arm back, but lost his grip on the machete in the process. That didn’t stop him from hitting her so hard she saw stars.

She desperately tried to shield her face from the next blow, only being halfway successful.

Five consecutive gunshots rang out from behind the massive Revenant. The sixth followed a second after. The massive Revenant fell limply to the ground, taking Nicole with him.

Nicole gave herself two seconds to just not do anything before she pushed him off her. She sat up to see Wynonna Earp’s smug smile. Wynonna seemed to be bleeding from a shallow cut on her arm, but she was alive. At her feet lay three dead Revenants.

«You see» Wynonna said as she started reloading her revolver. «This is why you bring me along even if I don’t know all your fancy hand signals.»

Nicole spat out some blood that had been pooling in her mouth, then gave Wynonna a thumbs up. «Great job!»

Nicole groaned as she got up from the floor and picked up her knife and gun. She was going to be extremely sore as soon as the adrenaline ran out. They needed to keep moving.

The fighting on the other side of the ship seemed to have died down. Theo and Duncan had radioed in. Duncan had taken a bullet to the arm, but beyond that they were fine. After ensuring that Duncan was good to continue, Nicole had ordered them to do a search of the lower levels of the ship, while she and Wynonna moved on towards the bridge.

The adrenaline was starting to run out and her body was aching. Nicole forced herself to walk steady despite the sharp pain in her leg. They just needed to clear the bridge and then they could go back to Purgatory victorious and hopefully with some information about Bobo’s location.

The door to the bridge was wide open. Nicole frowned and glanced back at Wynonna, who shrugged.

Nicole jumped to attention and held up her gun as she heard shuffling from inside.

«BBD! Lay down your weapons!» Nicole shouted.

«Give up, assholes! You’re surrounded!» Wynonna chimed in.

There was a rustle of chains and rushing footsteps came towards them. The Revenants that came crashing out of into the hallway had crazy eyes and were frothing at the mouth. Nicole had seen Revenants drugged out of their mind, but this was on a whole other level.They howled as they made their way down the hallway towards them.

It took a total of ten shots collectively to drop the two Revenants. Nicole held her breath as she waited for anyone else to come towards them.

«I surrender!» A gruff voice shouted from the bridge. «I surrender!»

Nicole almost dropped her gun. Wynonna started towards the door with a satisfied grin.

It took Nicole a moment to collect herself. «Wynonna, careful!» 

She didn’t trust this. Revenants did not surrender.

Wynonna begrudgingly slowed down and held her gun at the ready. She stopped outside the door, pressing herself against the wall.

«Throw your weapons towards the door.» Wynonna commanded.

After a brief pause a shotgun slid across the floor, followed by a gun.

Wynonna glanced over her shoulder as Nicole moved closer. After taking a deep breath, Nicole nodded that she was ready.

They moved through the door and found a Revenant already kneeling the floor, hands up. It was clear that he had not taken any drugs.

Nicole kept him in her sight while Wynonna cleared the room.

«He’s alone.» She said after searching the room.

«Cuff him.» Nicole muttered.

Nicole tried to compute what was happening as she watched Wynonna cuff and search him.

This had been too easy. Or not too easy; she felt like she’d been run over by a truck, but something didn’t add up.

Revenants did not surrender.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be all mysterious and not really write much in the beginning notes this time.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Waverly stared at the Revenant ship. She had managed to stay calm despite the multiple explosions that had gone off around the two most important people in her life.

Now that the Revenant ship was quiet, she was struggling to remain calm. At least the ship had stopped firing at Purgatory, which was a good sign. But the tension inside of her would not let go until they heard from them again.

As the silence continued she struggled more and more to stay still. When the restlessness and worry became unbreakable, she got up from the controller’s chair and walked over the navigation table. She needed to just do something productive to try to remain calm, so she did the only thing she could; She started plotting routes out of here. She checked the long range sonar report and marked anything that could be a ship, then she marked them on the map and started plotting courses.

She had charted three different courses depending on where Dolls wanted to take the ship when the communicator finally sparked to life:

«Strike Team to Bridge» Nicole sounded tired.

Despite the clear tiredness in Nicole’s voice, a wave of relief washed over Waverly and she leaned heavily on the Navigator’s desk as she released the breath she had been holding since the Speeder left the belly of the ship.

Dolls picked up the communicator. «Bridge copies.»

«The ship has been cleared. Some injuries, but nothing fatal or life threatening.»

Waverly turned at that. Who had been injured? How injured? She didn’t quite trust Nicole’s assessment of what was a serious injury and not.

Nicole continued: «We’re returning to Purgatory with one prisoner.»

«Good work, Chief. We’ll have medical ready upon your return. Bridge out.» Dolls put away the communicator. «Waverly, chart us a course out of here and into safer waters.»

«Already done» Waverly said and informed the helm of the heading.

Everything on the bridge was ready for the Speeders return, so Waverly moved back to sit in the Controller’s chair.

She picked up the binoculars and tried to spot the Speeder in the darkness. After some searching she finally found it. She trailed it as is sped across the waves.

As the Speeder came closer to Purgatory she could see that Wynonna was driving instead of Nicole. That made her stomach drop. She knew that Nicole would not give up control of the Speeder unless she felt like she had to, and certainly not to Wynonna. Waverly reminded herself that Nicole had said ‘no fatal injuries’. But then again, Nicole had been pretty nonchalant about the time she was shot.

«I’ll go down and meet them» Dolls said as he pressed the buttons to open the bay doors.

Part of her wanted to negotiate that she should be the one greeting the Speeder. But Dolls was the Captain of the ship and he was the one who could dole out all the orders and the only reason Waverly had for being there was because she loved Wynonna and Nicole. She reminded herself that there had been no life threatening injuries.

Dolls stood up from his chair. «Waverly, you’ve got the conn.»

«What?» Waverly couldn’t believe her ears.

That ghost of a smile spread over Dolls’ lips. «You’ve got command of the bridge until I return.»

Waverly slowly put down the binoculars and shifted her gaze to look at the Pilots chair. They were in hostile territory, just out of combat and Dolls was leaving her in command.

«Waverly» He said quietly.

Waverly looked at him again, her own self doubt clear on her face. There was an actual small smile on his lips now. It was a tightlipped smile, but it was genuine and reassuring.

«You’ve got this. Now get in the chair.»

«Aye aye, sir.»

Dolls tapped the back of the Pilot’s chair two times and left the bridge.

Waverly slowly stood up and took the three steps from the controller’s chair to the pilot’s chair. She stared at the leather seat for a moment before slowly sitting down.

«I’ve got-» She cleared her throat and forced herself to sound more commanding. «I’ve got the conn.»

«Aye aye, ma’am.» Nedley said from the helm.

She closed her eyes for a moment and tried her best to channel her inner Dolls.

«Engage Stealth Transmitter» She was actually surprised at how commanding she sounded.

«Stealth Transmitter Engaged»

«Set engine to cruising speed.»

«Engine set to cruising speed.» Nedley confirmed as he adjusted the throttle. Waverly detected a hint of pride in his voice.

She had to admit that being in command felt good. She hadn’t stopped worrying about Nicole and Wynonna and those non-life threatening injuries. But the best thing she could do was to not mess up her first time in charge of the bridge and safely get them out of these Revenant filled waters.

Waverly pushed the door to the sickbay open. Her eyes landed on Nicole. The left side of her face was bruised and she had a split lip. It was late at night, and as suspected Waverly found Nicole sleeping. She knew she really should let her sleep, but she just needed to make sure that she was okay.

Though Waverly tried her best to close the door as quietly as possible, when she turned to look at Nicole she found her eyes open.

«Hi» Nicole said quietly.

«You know» Waverly began as she made her way over to sit on the edge of the hospital bed. «I’m really not a fan of your tendency to end up in here.»

«But the scars are hot though.» Nicole tried to give one of her trademark cocky smiles, but Waverly did not miss that it was painful for her to do so.

«Yes, the scars are hot.» Waverly leaned forward gently kissed Nicole. It was more a kiss to the corner of her mouth, but a kiss none the less.

«Besides, I don’t really need to be here. It’s just a precaution. As you can see I took a few blows to the head, and Anna wants to keep me on antibiotics on account of Revenants blade not exactly being the-»

«You were stabbed?!»

«More like sliced.»

Waverly made a few disgruntled and intelligible sounds in equal parts frustration and worry. Nicole grabbed her hand and gave her a reassuring look.

«Baby, I’m fine. The mean Revenant just managed to slice my thigh a bit. It’s just a few stitches.»

Waverly raised her eyebrows at her. «Not really calming me down.»

Nicole had a playful glint in her eyes. «True. I did technically need more stitches now than when I was shot, so you’re right; I might be dying.»

«You’re not funny, you know that right?»

«I am a little bit funny.»

Waverly could help but smile. At least Nicole’s head was alright. She knew this on account of all the teasing.

Nicole tugged gently on her hand and motioned for her to lay down in the nook of her arm. Waverly didn’t need to be asked twice.

Though Nicole also smelt of sweat, disinfectant and just the tiniest hint of blood, the predominant scent was vanilla. As usual laying like this instantly made Waverly feel safe and warm.

«Dolls told me you had the conn» Nicole said softly after they’d just shared the space in silence for a while.

«It was terrifying.»

«Well, the ship is still floating, so it seems it went well.» Nicole chuckled, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. «I’m proud of you, baby.»

Waverly grimaced. «I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I was just mimicking what Dolls usually does.»

«You want to know a secret?»

Waverly pulled her head back to look up at Nicole.

«We’re all just mimicking what Dolls is doing.» Nicole whispered exaggeratedly. «Like, all the time.»

Waverly laughed.

«None of us have any idea what we’re doing, we’re just really great at always guessing what Dolls would do.» Nicole shrugged with one shoulder, a half smile spreading over her lips. Though one dimple was hidden under a nasty bruise, the other was present in all its glory.

«And why wasn’t this covered in training?»

«We couldn’t just spill all our secrets and let you know that we’re all just a bunch of idiots who have no idea what we’re doing. Or well, a bunch of idiots who has no idea what they’re doing and Dolls who has everything under control. You kinda had to learn that on your own.»

Waverly laughed again as she laid her head back on Nicole’s shoulder and put her arm over her waist.

Her frayed nerves were getting less frayed every second she spent in Nicole’s embrace. Nicole Haught, who even when lying in a hospital bed made Waverly feel safer than anywhere else.

«Thank you» She said after a while of comfortable silence.

«For what?» Nicole mumbled into her hair.

«For cheering me up.»

Nicole pressed another kiss to Waverly’s head, then moved to stare up at the ceiling. «Well, maybe I needed to cheer myself up a bit too.»

Waverly sat up a bit. «What’s wrong?»

«I’m just… I have this nagging feeling.» Nicole worried her lower lip. «I just feel it was too easy.»

«What do you mean?» Waverly frowned and looked at her girlfriend lying in a hospital bed.

«It’s just…» Nicole scratched her forehead, the right side that was not all battered and bruised. «Revenants don’t surrender. They get high out of their mind and fight to the death.»

Nicole turned to look at Waverly and the worry in those brown eyes was clear as day:

«And this guy, the Revenant we captured, he was entirely sober. And not only that he surrendered.»

Waverly felt her stomach slowly turn to ice. «You think it’s some kind of trap?» 

«I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right.»

«Did you talk to Dolls about it?» Waverly asked quietly.

«Yeah»

«What did he say?»

Nicole shrugged. «He said that there could be a number of reasons for his surrender. He could have panicked, to them it must’ve seemed like Purgatory came out of nowhere. His survival instincts might’ve kicked in. We moved through that ship pretty fast.»

Waverly shifted even closer to Nicole, hoping that she would recapture some of that safety she had felt earlier.

Nicole shook her head. «I don’t know. I’d like to think that for once we were just lucky, but it was just too easy.»

«So Dolls didn’t listen to you?»

«He assured me that he’d put extra guards on the Revenant and that they would remain vigilant.»

Waverly averted her gaze. «And Willa?»

Nicole sighed. «I tried suggesting the same for her, but Wynonna put a hard no on that. She said Willa had proved herself and that they were celebrating.»

«So Wynonna is with her…» Waverly shifted uncomfortably.

«Yeah… Hopefully they’ll drink themselves into a stupor.»

Waverly forced a chuckle. «They are both Earps, so the likelihood of that is actually quite high.»

Nicole let out a breathy laugh. «Yeah, then we won’t have to deal with them again until the morning.» The smile faded from her face, and she started worrying her lower lip. «But would you mind staying here tonight?»

«You know Anna is gonna yell at us if I do that.»

«The prospect of being yelled at by Anna is nothing compared to the prospect of anything happening to you.» Nicole looked at her. «I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.» 

Waverly stretched her neck and kissed Nicole. «I’ll stay.»

«Good» Nicole smiled.

They had talked until Nicole wouldn’t stop yawning. The sense of dread hadn’t really left Waverly, but talking, laughing and honestly flirting with Nicole had at least dampened it a bit.

That was until Nicole finally fell asleep. The sickbay always had dull nightlights on, so Waverly was left in the dim light starting at nothing. Every creaking of the ship made her jump and her heart race.

She couldn’t get what Nicole had said out of her head. Before Willa showed up Purgatory had become Waverly’s home. A place she felt safe. Now she felt like she had reverted back to the Waverly she was seven months ago; Every shadow held a deadly pirate, every sound sent her heart racing.

She had considered going to get a gun from the armoury, she was certain Nicole would give her the code to the gun-locker if she asked, but the thought of walking alone through the ship at night kept her from doing so.

Nicole was sleeping soundly. Occasionally reacting to Waverly lifting her head and looking towards the door with unintelligible murmuring and wrapping her arm tighter around her. Waverly was awake for hours, until exhaustion finally won and she fell asleep.

«Make one sound, and I’ll put a hole in her pretty little skull.»

Waverly opened her eyes to find Nicole staring up at something with burning rage apparent in her entire face. Not something; someone. Waverly knew that voice.

The cold, meanness was now clear as day in everything she did as Willa held a gun to the back of Waverly’s head.

Willa grab onto the back of Waverly’s shirt and pulled her out of bed. Nicole moved to grab onto her but Willa pressed the muzzle of the gun painfully into the back of Waverly’s skull.

«Don’t test me, red.» Willa hissed threateningly.

Nicole held her hands up, fear taking the place of rage in her eyes. «Alright»

«What are you doing, Willa?» Waverly tried to turn to look at Willa, but she pressed her further down into an uncomfortable bent over position.

«You shut up.» Willa snarled.

«What do you want?» Nicole demanded.

Willa laughed. It sounded more like a malicious snarl. «First I want to know what all the secrecy is about. I’ve gathered there is something special about your engine, but Wynonna wouldn’t tell me no matter how hard I pried.»

«Where is Wynonna?» Nicole asked as she slowly sat up.

Waverly could feel Willa twitch, but she allowed Nicole to sit up.

«Oh, she’s fine. She’s sleeping off the whisky.» Willa leaned closer to Waverly’s ear, and quick as a snake shifted her grip so that she was holding her by the hair instead of the back of her shirt. «And we both know how deep that sleep is, don’t we?»

«Willa, please» Waverly begged, her voice was thick with fear.

«I thought I told you to shut up.» Willa tightened her grip on Waverly’s hair, then looked at Nicole again. «Now answer my question; what are you hiding in the engine?»

Nicole’s eyes landed on Waverly, who desperately tried to shake her head. Willa held her hair so tight that the movement hurt.

Nicole was visibly torn and for the first time since Waverly had met her the woman froze. She could see the redhead’s mind racing as she assessed her options.

«Answer my question.» Willa cocked the gun.

«Okay, okay! We have an Alliance Stealth Transmitter.» Nicole said desperately.

«An Alliance Stealth Transmitter» Willa said slowly, as if she was tasting every word. «That will be a good tribute.»

Waverly felt her stomach turning to ice. There was only one person Waverly could think of Willa paying tribute to. Waverly looked up at Nicole who looked to have come to the same conclusion.

«Get up» Willa commanded at Nicole. «You’re taking me to this Stealth Transmitter. Now.»

Nicole nodded and climbed out of bed. Willa pulled Waverly back so they had some more distance from Nicole. If Nicole did anything Willa didn’t like, she had more than enough time to pull the trigger.

«If any of you make any sound or try to alert the rest of the ship I will not hesitate to put a bullet in both of you, starting with this one.» Willa pulled so hard on Waverly’s hair that she couldn’t help but let out a painful groan. «Understood?»

Nicole nodded.

«Go.»

Nicole started walking, trying to move as fast as she could while still not putting too much weight on her left foot. It was clear that moving was very painful for her.

Willa guided Waverly by pulling on her hair. She couldn’t feel the muzzle of the gun against her skull anymore, but she doubted that Willa had lowered the gun.

Nicole was leaning heavily against the wall as she limped down the hallway. It took all the power Waverly had not to cry. But she refused to give Willa the satisfaction.

Waverly searched her mind for any opportunity to get out of this. She didn’t trust her own ability to disarm Willa, and Nicole was wounded and unarmed.

They rounded a corner and entered the last hallway. The engine room was at the end of this hallway. Then suddenly Waverly remembered something that could help them. The brig would be on their right. Nicole was almost at the door.

There was a flutter of hope in her heart; the extra guards Dolls had put on the Revenant. They could help.

Nicole stopped a couple of feet away from the door and turned to Willa. Waverly desperately tried to communicate to her to not inform Willa of the guards. Nicole looked at her for a second and then looked at Willa.

«Guards» Nicole mouthed and motioned towards the brig.

«Oh, that’s not a problem» The smugness in Willa’s voice was obnoxious.

Nicole’s whole face dropped. She turned and took the two last steps so that she could see into the brig.

The first thing that faced her was a gun held to her head. She was pushed backwards at gunpoint as a man stepped out into the hallway.

Waverly’s knees almost buckled underneath her. She recognised the man. She had seen him in Acropolis with Fish. That meant…

Fish gave her a vicious grin as he stepped out into the hallway. He wiped a bloody knife on his shirt. Willa ignored Fish and looked at the Revenant.

«Marty» She said in a sugary tone.

«Capt’n» The Revenant gave a curt bow of his head, gun still aimed at Nicole.

«I trust your stay with BBD has been good?»

«I like our own ship better.»

«We’ll be home soon.»

Nicole, who had just been glaring at Fish, finally snarled through gritted teeth. «You fucking asshole»

Fish shrugged in a nonchalant way. «I’m just doing what I need to, to get ahead.»

«You’re betraying everything-»

«Enough!» Willa barked. «Engine room, now.»

The Revenant, Marty, grabbed Nicole by the neck and pushed her forward a few feet. «Move»

Nicole stumbled and steadied herself on the wall. Slowly they started moving; Marty with his gun trained on Nicole, Fish following behind them, with Willa and Waverly in the back.

Nicole finally stopped outside the bulkhead door to the Engine. As she turned the wheel and opened the door, the sounds of the engine filled the air around them. It felt almost painfully loud.

Nicole stepped in first, followed closely by the rest of them with Willa dragging Waverly in last. She made sure to keep a good distance away from Nicole at all times.

«Where is this transmitter?» Willa asked as she pressed the gun to Waverly’s head again.

Nicole pointed at the cluster of wires and pipes that made up the Engine Computers.

«Get it.» Willa commanded.

Nicole moved to gather the tools she needed, all the while Marty aimed at her. It didn’t take Nicole long to uninstall the Transmitter.

«That’s it?» Willa looked at the small chip.

Nicole held it out towards her. «That’s it» 

Willa shrugged and motioned her head toward Marty. Marty grabbed it out of Nicole’s hands and put it in his pocket.

Willa set her cold, dead eyes on Nicole. «Then I guess I have no need for you anymore.»

«If you kill her I swear to god, Willa» Waverly ignored the pain in her scalp as she turned towards her sister. «I will fight and scream so loud that every single person on this ship wakes up. I don’t care if you kill me. You do not touch her.»

Willa’s dead eyes stared back at her, slightly amused. She considered her options for a moment. Then she rolled her eyes and motioned with her head at Marty.

Waverly turned towards Nicole just in time to see Marty pistol-whip her in the head. As Nicole fell limply to the ground Waverly couldn’t help but sob loudly.

«Oh, stop your crying. She’s alive.» Willa said as she pulled her away.

Fish and Marty walked out first. Waverly struggled to turn her head and look at Nicole. Willa pulled harshly on her hair, but Waverly managed to get what might be her one look at the love of her life. Nicole was still lying on the ground, motionless.

Willa yanked on Waverly’s hair again and Waverly could do nothing but follow as Fish closed the bulkhead doors behind them.

They moved quickly through the ship. Waverly realised that Fish was leading them to the docking bay.

Waverly couldn’t hold back the fear and tears as she was dragged through the belly of Purgatory. This ship had become her home, it had become her safe haven, and Willa was violating it.

Fish entered first and turned on the lights. The lights were so bright that it was painful. Marty looked around with a nasty grin. Willa dragged Waverly to the middle of the room.

«On your knees» She commanded, and Waverly could do nothing but obey.

Willa let go of her hair but kept the gun pressed to the back of her head.

«Fish, get a speeder ready.»

«They’ll notice if we open the bay doors» Fish said.

Willa sounded impatient. «Get it ready so all we have left to do is to open the bay doors then.»

Fish nodded once and set about programming the robotic arm to pluck the speeder from the railing high above them.

«Idiot» Willa muttered under her breath.

Waverly needed to drag out time. She needed to keep Willa talking.

«Willa» She began.

The muzzle of the gun was pressed even harder to the back of her skull. «Shut up.»

«What are you doing?»

«I said shut up!» Willa snarled.

Waverly gathered what courage she had. «If you were going to kill me you would have done so already. You need me alive for something.»

Willa remained quiet for but a moment. «True. I do need you alive. For now. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t cause you pain.» Willa covered Waverly’s mouth with one hand and stepped as hard as she could on her ankle.

Waverly’s scream was muted by the hand covering her mouth. After having put her full weight down on Waverly’s ankle, Willa finally stepped of her, but kept her hand over her mouth.

«So keep your mouth shut.»

Waverly bit back the sob as she nodded. With a jerk, Willa removed her hand but kept the gun pressed to her head.

«Marty, the communicator» Willa held out her free hand.

Marty plucked a communicator out of his pocket and handed it to her. Waverly felt bile in the back of her throat as she saw the blood covered communicator being handed over.

The robotic arm had lifted a Speeder down and the clamps held it in place at the right height. Now all Willa needed to do was open the bay doors and let the water flood in.

Behind her, Waverly could her Willa plotting something into the communicator.

«Wynonna?» Willa said into it.

There was a brief pause. «Yes?» Wynonna’s voice was surprisingly clear, given that she was supposed to have just woken from a whiskey sleep.

Willa seemed unbothered. «Would you please come down to the Docking bay. Alone.»

There was something strange with the transmission. It was as if Willa’s voice was echoed. Waverly and Willa seemed to come to the same realisation at the same time. Willa wrapped her arm around Waverly’s throat, pulled her to her feet to use her as a human shield and pressed the gun to her temple.

At the same time, Wynonna into the bright light from the dark hallway, her revolver drawn and trained on Willa. Following close behind Wynonna was Dolls, gun drawn and aimed at the Revenant. Entering last was Nicole, stubborn as ever. Waverly knew that the only thing that kept the redhead on her feet was pure seething rage.

Fish pulled his knife but didn’t make a move as Nicole aimed her gun at him. Though her aim was at Fish, Nicole’s eyes kept moving between him and Willa.

«I’m already here.» Wynonna said calmly. «What are you doing, Willa?»

«I knew you wouldn’t come willingly.»

«Come willingly?» Wynonna frowned. «What the hell are you talking about?»

«To freedom. To join me at Bobo’s side.»

«What?» Wynonna’s expression kept shifting between heartbreak and anger.

«Out there we could be queens. The entire ocean at our feet. We would be free of it all. Bobo would give us anything we ever wanted. All we would need to do is be his Valkyries. His angels death.» Willa sounded completely unhinged.

Waverly could see Wynonna’s eyes filling with tears.

«Willa… No.» Wynonna struggled to find the words as she lowered her gun slightly.

«You’ll see, just like I did. At his side we could have everything we ever wanted. We could have the world.»

«I don’t want the world» Wynonna said as her voice was breaking, a tear running down her cheek. «I just wanted my family.»

«That is why I took her!» Willa laughed. «I know you’ve always been fond of her, even if she isn’t one of us. And I knew you would resist at first, so I needed leverage.»

What did Willa mean ‘isn’t one of us’? Waverly forced it from her mind for now, she needed to focus. Willa held Waverly in a grip she had practised getting out of. Though, out of the hundreds of times she had tried getting out of this kind of grip she had only ever managed to do so two and a half times.

«I won’t let you hurt her.» Wynonna said through gritted teeth as she raised her gun again.

«Then come with me, and I won’t have to.»

«I can’t let you leave here either.» More tears started running down Wynonna’s face.

Waverly closed her eyes and focused all her energy on remembering the lessons Nicole and Dolls had given her.

_First, redirect the line of fire. You do this by placing your hand on to of the gun and pushing it down. All you need is an inch of two so even if the gun goes of, the shot will miss._

«Then I’ll shoot her and you’ll lose both of us.» Willa’s voice was strained.

«Just stop this, it’s not too late. We can stay here, all of us.» Wynonna sounded more and more desperate.

_Second, gain control of the gun. You do this by placing your hand on the rear of the gun, securing your grip on it. Now you’re holding the gun with both hands and have directed the line of fire away from yourself._

Willa started moving towards the Speeder, dragging Waverly with her. «Don’t you understand, Wynonna? We can be together. I have my own ship. We can be whoever we want, we can take whatever we want. The world would be ours.»

«Willa, stop!» Wynonna said forcefully, cocking her gun.

_Third, free yourself from the choke hold while disarming your assailant. You do this by pushing back with your hips while you’re pushing forward with your hands. If you’re doing it right, you will break out of the grip and have disarmed them of their gun which you can then point back at your assailant._

«Or what? You’ll shoot me?» Willa laughed. «The only real choice here is to come with me. I know you love us both. You won’t let me kill her and I know you won’t shoot me, I know you can’t choose between us.»

Waverly opened her eyes and met Wynonna’s. She tried to give her a reassuring look before springing into action.

As quick as she could Waverly reached for Willa’s gun. She managed to get her hand on top of the gun. The quick movements startled Willa who pulled the trigger. Waverly could feel the bullet rip through her bicep and in that instance she knew that the bullet had missed her throat by just a fraction of an inch.

The next couple of seconds several things happened simultaneously:

In the shock of it all, Willa let go of Waverly who fell to the ground, clutching her arm and screaming out in pain.

Fish tried to make a run towards Waverly and Willa, but Nicole fired a bullet that shattered his knee and sent him sprawling across the floor.

The Revenant moved to shoot, but Dolls had been on a hair trigger and shot him in the head before the Revenant could so much as twitch.

Willa aimed her gun at Waverly and went to shoot again.

One last gunshot echoed through the docking bay. Willa stood frozen for a moment before her body fell limply to the ground.

Wynonna’s bullet had gone through her neck, likely shattering her spine.

Wynonna stared at Willa’s limp body.

«I choose her.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided that I'm making this into a series. This is the penultimate chapter in Out of the Abyss that will be part 1. 
> 
> I'll post the last chapter in Out of the Abyss, and part two; On the Horizon, will continue this story of Wayhaught and the Earp Sisters. 
> 
> I don't really know why my brain has decided that is has to be this way, but it has decided it.  
> I hoped you enjoyed the culmination of everything and that you are looking forward to the resolution in the next chapter.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the last chapter in Out of the Abyss. The story will continue in 'On the Horizon'. I'll take a short break to just work out the details of the story and start writing it.
> 
> This chapter is a bit short, really just rounding off this part of the story. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Waverly had enough wits about her to put pressure on her wound. Dolls was already shouting into the communicator that medical was needed in the Docking Bay as he made his way over to Fish to cuff him.

Nicole ran and skidded across the floor the last few feet to get to Waverly.

«Waves» She breathed, and Waverly wasn’t entirely sure Nicole was aware that she had said it.

«I’m okay» Waverly mumbled.

«Just keep pressure on it.»

Waverly just nodded as Nicole unbuckled Waverly’s belt.

«Tourniquet» Nicole said mostly to herself. She looped the belt around Waverly’s arm, just above the gunshot wound. «This is gonna hurt.»

Waverly hissed loudly and grabbed onto Nicole’s shoulder as she tightened the belt painfully around her arm.

«Sorry, sorry, sorry» Nicole grimaced as she tied of the belt. She moved Waverly’s hand from the wound and quickly looked it over. «It looks like a through-and-through.»

Waverly didn’t know what else to do, so she nodded.

«Are you hurt anywhere else?» Nicole asked, placing her hands on each side of Waverly’s face.

«I’m fine, I’m okay.»

Nicole let out a big breath and pressed her foreheads to Waverly’s.

«I’m okay» Waverly said, and she meant it though her voice was trembling.

Sitting like this for a few seconds sent a wave of relief through her. Nicole was okay, she herself was okay and the woman who turned out to be a deadly threat to the entire ship was dead. There was also a wave of vindication. She had felt guilty that she didn’t trust Willa and her instincts had been correct. She had been correct in always being alert around her.

Now Willa was dead and she was safe. They were all safe. It took her moment to realise that she shouldn’t feel all of these positive feelings. Her sister was dead. Willa was truly dead and it had been Wynonna pulling the trigger.

 _Wynonna…_

Waverly pulled back a bit and looked up at Wynonna. Her sister was standing completely still, still staring at Willa’s body that was lying limply not too far from Waverly.

Waverly pressed a kiss to Nicole’s forehead then she stood up. Nicole did her best to help her up, but now that the adrenaline was running out, Waverly could clearly see that she was in a lot of pain. Before walking over to Wynonna, she used her good arm to help the redhead to her feet and ensured that she was steady.

Wynonna hadn’t moved, hadn’t so much as twitched since she had lowered her gun after firing it. She might as well have been a statue where she stood, had it not been for the tears that streamed down her face.

«Wynonna?» Waverly’s voice was quiet.

Wynonna didn’t react. Her grip on her revolver was so tight that her knuckles were white.

Waverly carefully reached out to place her hand on Wynonna’s shoulder. Still she did not react.   
Waverly stepped directly in front of Wynonna, so that she was blocking the view of Willa’s body. Gently, she placed her hand on Wynonna’s cheek.

«Wynonna» It came out more as a whisper.

Wynonna’s eyes slowly focused on Waverly. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to speak but no words coming out.

Waverly pulled her in for a hug with her good arm and turned them around so that Wynonna wouldn’t be looking at Willa. Her sister’s arms hung limply at her sides.

«I had to» Her voice was barely audible and the words almost unintelligible from the thickness of her voice.

«I know» Waverly said, hugging her sister tighter.

«She was going to shoot you.»

«Shh»

«I couldn’t let her shoot you.» Finally Wynonna wrapped her arms around Waverly, hanging onto her as if her life depended on it.

«I know, Wynonna. It’s okay.» Waverly murmured into her ear.

Wynonna clutched her sister tight and cried. Waverly held her close and cried for her.

Anna and the medical team came running into the Docking Bay. The doctor gave Waverly a once over, clocking the tourniquet but observant as ever saw the look Waverly gave her, nodded once and moved to Fish.

«Make sure he survives.» Dolls ordered, his gun still pointed at the still twitching Fish.

«Please, it’s just a shot to the knee. He’ll live but it might be very painful.»

«Good» Dolls said.

Nicole had found a tarp, which she used to cover Willa’s body before limping over to Waverly and Wynonna.

«Let’s get you out of here.» Nicole said quietly, placing a soft hand on Wynonna’s back.

Waverly made sure that Wynonna kept her eyes forward as they moved out of the Docking Bay.

Earlier, they had completed the sea funeral for the two guards who had been killed by Fish and the Revenant. The ship had stopped and all of the crew had been out on the deck.

Dolls had spoken, followed by speeches from their bunkmates and friends. There had been a gun salute and then their friends had pushed their caskets into the sea.

Now Wynonna, Waverly and Nicole had moved down to the Docking Bay. Wynonna had finally agreed to give Willa a burial at sea, but she didn’t want to give it up on the deck. She was their sister, and the crew knew that, but she was also the woman who had orchestrated the assault that had taken the life of two of their friends and had almost destroyed everything they’d worked for the last six months.

Still, Waverly knew that Wynonna needed to do this. To have a funeral for the sister she once had, a sister who had now died twice.

Waverly held her hand as the bulkhead doors opened. Dolls and Doc carried in the casket with her body, following closely behind them was Nedley.

Dolls and Doc put the casked down at the end of the walkway that lead out to the bay doors. Once the massive doors were open, they could push the casket out to sea.

«Give me a moment» Wynonna muttered and let go of Waverly’s hand.

She walked over to the casket and knelt down next to it. Waverly watched as her sister placed her head on Willa’s casket and just stayed there.

Nedley made his way over to Waverly a bit awkwardly.

«I hope it is okay that I’m here.» He said quietly. «I wouldn’t want to intrude.»

Waverly gave him a small smile. «Of course, Nedley. Of course you can stay.»

Nedley’s eyes were brimming with tears, his moustache twitching slightly as he took a deep breath. «I remember when all you girls were little.»

Waverly frowned slightly. «You mean…»

Nedley drew his lips into a thin line as he gave the tiniest nod. «I used to sail with your parents. Back in the day.» He looked over with those warm eyes. «I remember all of you being born. Willa and Wynonna used to run around the ship causing all kinds of trouble.»

Waverly thought back to the first day on Purgatory. Nedley had felt familiar. She had just thought that it was something about the way he looked.

«Why didn’t you tell me before?»

«I knew that you didn’t remember, and I didn’t want to confuse you further. You had enough on your mind when you arrived. And later…» Nedley shrugged and let out a shaky breath. «I just thought with your parents-» His voice broke. He took a moment to clear his throat. «Guess I just wanted to be here for you girls.»

Waverly gave him a side hug with her good arm. The other was still in a sling healing from the gunshot wound.

«Thank you, Nedley.»

Nedley just nodded, and tried to covertly dry the tears that escaped his eyes.

It had been a strange couple of days. Waverly was sad, but not for the reasons one should. She was sad for Wynonna, she was sad to be seeing her in so much pain. She was sad for the crew that had been lost. But she didn’t mourn Willa. She had already mourned her long ago, and the person who had returned to them felt like the worst part of a bad fever dream.

Waverly had tried to stay strong for Wynonna. Helping her make decisions, pushing her to have the burial at sea.

Deep down she still felt like that horrible person who couldn’t even mourn the sister she had lost, only feel sad for the sister she had left.

Nicole, ever the vigilant protector, noticed the expression of sadness Waverly had on her face and stepped forward to take her hand.

Waverly didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth about her sadness. She was selfish enough to not want Nicole to know the truth about how horrible she was.

Waverly leaned against Nicole and took comfort there for a moment. Then she pulled back and picked up the bottle of whisky she had placed behind her on the floor when they arrived.

Tentatively she made her way over to Wynonna who was still resting her head on Willa’s casket. She knelt next to Wynonna, sat the bottle on top of the casket and placed her hand on her sister’s back.

Wynonna looked up at her with teary eyes. They didn’t say anything, didn’t need to. Wynonna grabbed the bottle, opened it and held it out for Waverly. Waverly grabbed it, took a sip of it and handed it back. Wynonna did not spare the booze, taking three big gulps. When she finished she poured some out on Willa’s casket.

Wynonna put the bottle down behind her. For a few moments they sat like that; quietly drying their tears around their sister’s casket.

«It’s time» Wynonna suddenly said.

Waverly nodded solemnly and motioned for Dolls to open the bay doors. Wynonna stood up and paced a bit back and forth, angrily trying to dry her own tears as the massive bay doors opened.

The seas outside the bay doors was calm and quiet. The sun hung low in the sky; a warm orange light reflecting over the waves. The sight was too serene for this somber moment.

When the doors hissed to a stop Wynonna took a deep breath. Waverly moved over so that Wynonna could kneel down next to her.

At the same time, Dolls and Doc fastened a ramp to the edge of the walkway.

Waverly looked over at Wynonna, who had placed her hands on the edge of the casket. And then she waited as Wynonna stared harshly at the casket. She could see her sister was desperately trying to stop herself from breaking down crying again.

«Okay» Was the only warning Waverly got before Wynonna started pushing.

Waverly did her best to help push the casket towards the ramp. The steel casket scraped across the floor until the balance point tipped over into the ramp and it started sliding down.

The two Earp sisters kneeled next to each other as the casket slid down the ramp and off the ship. Water bubbled around it as water started filling the casket.

In burials at sea it was important that the casket sunk to the bottom. The casket had several holes at the bottom to ensure that water filled it and it would sink.

Waverly grabbed Wynonna’s hand as they watched and waited. She could feel the tremble in her sister’s hand. It broke her heart.

Life had not been kind to Wynonna; in an attempt to save their father and Willa years ago, she had accidentally shot Ward Earp. And now the consequences of that raid 16 years ago had forced Wynonna to shoot their sister. A sister who had been twisted and corrupted by Bobo del Rey.

Waverly looked out on the casket of Willa and the pain in her stomach grew immensely. She shouldn’t be feeling this relief as the casket sank. Her hands should be trembling and her heart should be broken. Instead, Waverly was relieved. When Willa had died the tension she had carried in her shoulder for weeks disappeared.

The first night Willa had been dead, while Waverly laid in one hospital bed and Nicole the other, Waverly had finally felt truly safe again on Purgatory.

The guilt Waverly had felt because of her aversion and distrust of Willa was nothing compared to the guilt Waverly felt for being relieved that her oldest sister was dead.

But she had put on a mask. A face she could show Wynonna and Nicole so they wouldn’t know how horrible she was.

Waverly looked at the edge of the casket as it sank below the water surface. She projected a thought towards that casket and the body of the woman inside it.

_I forgive you._

One day she hoped that statement would be true. 

Wynonna let out a breath that sounded more like a sob. «May you finally find rest.»

Waverly gave her hand a squeeze and felt tears start streaming down her own face.

Wynonna watched until the final edge of the casket disappeared below the surface. Then she let go of Waverly’s hand, grabbed the whisky bottle and hastily left the Docking Bay.

Waverly, who was a bit slower to get on her feet on account of her injuries, got up and went to follow her.

Doc gently wrapped his hand around her arm, stopping her in her track. «Give her some time, love.»

Waverly considered for a moment to tear her arm free and chase after Wynonna, but Doc was right. Wynonna needed some time alone.

Waverly sat up in the small bed. Nicole was resting next to her. The redhead had convinced her to rest just for a bit before she took off to find Wynonna. Both to give Wynonna some time to herself and because both of them hadn’t gotten much sleep the last three days.

Nicole had tried to stay awake until Waverly had fallen asleep, but she had always had it easier when it came to the whole process of falling asleep than Waverly had.

When Waverly sat up, Nicole stirred. The redhead fell asleep easily, but she was a light sleeper.

«Waves?» She asked groggily.

«Shh, go back to sleep.» Waverly whispered as she leaned down to kiss Nicole.

The bruises on Nicole’s face had turned a deep shade of blue. Waverly had often wished over the last couple of days that she could just kiss away the bruises and pain.

«Where are you going?» Nicole whispered as Waverly drew back from the kiss.

«Wynonna» was all Waverly said.

Nicole nodded slowly and brought Waverly’s hand to her lips to plant a soft kiss there. Waverly stepped into her boots. It was a tight squeeze as Nicole had tied the laces tight enough for the boots to stay on, but loose enough so that Waverly could just step out of them.

Waverly was not supposed to be using her arm for a few weeks more as the muscle healed.

Nicole got up and helped her put on her jacket and placed the sling around her neck. Waverly gave her another quick kiss and turned to leave.

«Wait» Nicole said.

Waverly turned to find Nicole opening the top drawer on her nightstand. She brought out a gun holster and a gun. Nicole limped over and fastened the holster first in Waverly’s belt, and then fastened the strap around her thigh and tightened it so the holster wouldn’t move.

Waverly didn’t protest. Ever since that night, Nicole had made sure that at least one of them was armed with a gun at any point.

Finally Nicole picked up Waverly’s knife from atop the dresser and fastened to her belt at the small of her back.

«There» Nicole said quietly.

«Thank you» Waverly replied and gave Nicole’s hand a last squeeze before she left the cabin.

She found Wynonna on the first attempt. She knew exactly where she had gone.

It was dark outside, so it had gotten cold. Waverly had brought a backpack with a few blankets and another bottle of whisky.

In the dark and with one arm, climbing onto the roof of the bridge was a challenging task. But Waverly was determined to succeed. She climbed the ladder one step at the time, using her legs and right hand to pull herself up, then anchoring herself by grabbing onto the step with her left arm and quickly getting a grip on the next step with her right.

She crested the top and pulled herself up on the roof. Wynonna was sitting there; the empty bottle of whisky next to her, just staring out at nothing.

Waverly made her way over, put the backpack down and brought out a blanket.

Wynonna startled slightly as Waverly gingerly put the blanket around her shoulders. She turned to look at Waverly. Her eyes were red and her face puffy.

Waverly didn’t say anything as she sat down next to her. They stayed like that for a moment before Wynonna reached out and pulled Waverly closer, wrapping the blanket around both of them.

«Are you okay?» Waverly asked after a while.

«Peachy» Wynonna answered.

Waverly felt stupid. Of course Wynonna wasn’t okay. But she didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t know how to begin comforting her. The last time their family had died, it had been entirely up to Wynonna to comfort Waverly.

Now that it was time for Waverly to step up and repay the favour, she found herself at a loss of words. She didn’t know how to be helpful here. Instead, Waverly said the only thing she could think of. The only way she could think of to make Wynonna feel better:

«We’re going to avenge Willa.»

«You’re damn right we are.» Wynonna said firmly. «I’ll fucking drown Bobo with my own two hands. And then we’re going to burn his entire fucking fleet to the ground.»

Waverly only nodded. She didn’t feel the need to avenge Willa, but she knew that Wynonna was in need of revenge. She needed to set something right.

«I will help you any way I can.» Waverly said quietly.

Wynonna wrapped her arms tighter around her and rested her head atop Waverly’s.

«You are my favourite person in the whole world, baby girl.» Wynonna whispered. «I hope you know that.»

Waverly tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the tears from filling her eyes.

«I refuse to lose you.» Wynonna continued. «It’s always going to be you and me.»

Waverly just nodded.

«I guess Nicole can be there too.»

Waverly laughed. «How nice of you»

Wynonna shrugged. «She’s useful sometimes.»

«Just sometimes?»

«Alright, often» Wynonna admitted. «But we’ll do this, all of us. We’ll do it together.»

«Together» Waverly echoed and looked up at the stars above them.

The two Earp sister sat there in silence. Watching the stars while one was mourning their sister, and the other was sorrowful for her mourning.

They found a moment of peace in this sorrow, as both of their minds drifted to the momentous task at hand.

Two sisters who had months ago been at odds with each other, who had been angry, sad and hurt. Now they were the only two people left. They were the only Earps left to continue their fathers legacy and avenge the sister they once had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented and followed the story as it has evolved.   
> I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And most of all I hope to see you return in not too long when this story continues.


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